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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610577">White Dahlias</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkJinPls/pseuds/PinkJinPls'>PinkJinPls</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Best Friends Byun Baekhyun &amp; Kim Jongin | Kai, Break Up, Businessmen Chanyeol &amp; Sehun, CUTE DOGS!!!, Chicago (City), Cute, Fluff, Getting Back Together, M/M, Oh Sehun &amp; Park Chanyeol are Siblings, Sekai broke up, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Wedding Planning, Wedding planner Jongin, While planning Chanbaek's wedding, sekai - Freeform, then get back together</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:21:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>38,552</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610577</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkJinPls/pseuds/PinkJinPls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was love at first sight when Sehun and Jongin met in the flower shop those years ago. They were young and in love until Jongin decided he was holding Sehun back from his future, and leaves his lover while he sleeps with only a letter as an explanation. </p>
<p>Two years later, Jongin is a fully-functioning adult, a successful wedding planner, and father to one (1) doggo. It's all quite peachy until Byun Baekhyun bursts into Jongin's life to enlist him into planning his elaborate wedding to his gorgeous, successful and crazy rich fiancé, Chanyeol. </p>
<p>The thing is, Chanyeol is Sehun's older brother, and now it's only a matter of time until Jongin has to face Sehun, and the truth that comes with him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>91</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>188</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>✿ Hello readers and welcome to my Sekai ❀</p>
<p>This was the first ever piece I wrote about Exo and I just love flower boy Jongin so I hope you do too!<br/>I'm unsure how many parts there will be but updates should be constant and the ending will come soon so please enjoy!<br/>Prepare for slow burn and pining and mid-twenty crisis' and pretty flowers and a cute doggo ✿</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>✿ ❀</p>
<p>If there’s one thing that Kim Jongin prided himself on, it was that he knew Oh Sehun better than anyone else on the face of the planet. The male in question was quiet and reserved, he listened intently to conversations rather than speaking his opinion loudly into a space. From the moment they’d first met, he was a true believer in showing love, not telling. Whereas new friends could easily misread Sehun’s blank tone or rather serious brow, Jongin could read him like a copy of his favourite book, laughing heartily at one of his dry remarks before anyone else did.  </p>
<p>Hell, Sehun <em>was</em> his favourite book. He could spend hours reading every inch of his beautiful face or the fall of his raven black hair, and for the last few weeks, that’s what Jongin had done, endlessly, with lingering eyes.</p>
<p>Sehun was one of the hardest worker’s that Jongin had come across. His boyfriend’s work ethic was relentless; he could sit and work through the night and not care for the desk chair agonising his spine or his glasses causing bleary-eyed migraines. Once Sehun’s mind was set on a task it would take a bulldozer to prevent him from completing it, however trivial or important it was. One of Jongin’s favourite pastimes was to sit at their little kitchen table and watch Sehun calculate their financial incomings, a pencil over his ear and bottom lip considerably darker than the top after being subconsciously chewed on.</p>
<p> They’d both studied at the University of Chicago and yet somehow never crossed paths until a few months after graduation. Sehun had been born and raised in the city with his family, Jongin had travelled halfway across the world, leaving his family in Seoul to study Dance and Performance Arts internationally in the States. The dancer had to get a steady job so that his visa would allow him to stay in the US, and so ended up working at a large, busy florist’s downtown, west of Grant Park and the Art Institute.</p>
<p>Jongin loved city life. He loved the beautiful river that ran through the city, the tall buildings on every street and the lively bars and restaurants covering each corner. He had found some good friends while studying who frequented karaoke bars until they stumbled out past closing time when the Chicago sun was rising over the city and stumbling home with them. After graduation, he loved his new job, being surrounded by beautiful flora and the buzz of preparing something for another soul to enjoy. The rather tiny bedroom he shared with his college friends was something he could somewhat put up with, especially when it was covered with old flowers that his boss said they wouldn’t be able to sell.</p>
<p>That’s how he’d met Sehun. At the time the younger had just ventured into starting a business with his older brother, and ended up coming into the florist everyday for a week until Jongin finally asked him why he really needed all these flowers, to which the suited male had replied,</p>
<p>
  <em>“I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of flowers to buy a pretty florist.” </em>
</p>
<p>To this day, Jongin couldn’t understand how Sehun had been single for so long. He was tall and broad shouldered with gorgeous eyes and a cheeky smile. He was oh-so-clever and hilariously funny, loved his family and close circle of friends, he was perfect, and Lord knows Jongin hasn’t looked at another man since. They’d only been dating for four months before Jongin had started slowly moving his belongings into Sehun’s apartment, and soon enough, his name was written on the lease too. Sehun’s parents had emigrated from Korea which meant most importantly, the couple could talk in Jongin’s native tongue, and Sehun became the dancer’s little piece of home in busy Chicago.</p>
<p>Their flat was the perfect mix of Sehun and Jongin. Every piece of the younger’s minimal, monochromatic furniture was now covered with a brightly coloured, knitted blanket, an artsy rug, shelves adorned with trailing plants and bright flowers that smelt good all year round. Jongin’s heart always fluttered come dinnertime; no matter how much his feet ached from standing behind the florist desk he would hover by the small hob and cook for Sehun. The front door would open and close, there would be a shuffling exchange of smart shoes to house slippers, and as Sehun would sit at the table Jongin would lay bowls between them and watch with sparkling eyes as his tired boyfriend ate heartily.</p>
<p>Today was no different.</p>
<p>Ever since changing the clocks for spring, the days were becoming longer and the sun lingered in the orange sky in the evenings. Jongin was able to open the little kitchen window and feel the warming breeze as he lowered the heat on the stove for the hot pot to simmer, waiting for his love to come home. There was a collection of wilting violets in a glass milk bottle on the windowsill that Jongin had refused to let his boss throw away and every-so-often he could smell their scent as he bustled around the kitchen.</p>
<p>The door latch sounded, and Jongin smiled, drying his hands off on a stray tea towel before turning to see Sehun in the kitchen doorway, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.</p>
<p>“Hi, Sehunnie,” the dancer greeted, pressing a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek.</p>
<p>Sehun’s face had become leaner in the last few weeks. Jongin couldn’t tell if it was from the ongoing stress of his work and the long hours it would keep him up, running numbers and prepping presentations, or the lengthy runs that Sehun would disappear on before the sun even rose in the morning.</p>
<p>“Hi little dahlia,” Sehun paused, a hand finding Jongin’s back to hover there, “You smell nice.”</p>
<p><em>You smell nice</em> meant <em>I missed your smell</em>. Jongin smiled and pecked his cheek again, and couldn’t help thinking the feeling was mutual. He loosened his boyfriend’s tie and top buttons so that the younger could breathe before returning to the rattling lid of the pot.</p>
<p>“What do I smell like today?”</p>
<p>“Today? You smell like those little white flowers,” Sehun thought for a moment, shuffling around the kitchen to grab a carton of juice from the fridge, “Jasmines. You smell like jasmines.”</p>
<p>“We’re heading into spring wedding season, everyone wants them for the table decorations or bridesmaid bouquets, the shop is covered in them,” Jongin laughed softly.</p>
<p>The dancer glanced over his shoulder and looked through the open doorway to where Sehun was now perched on the edge of the sofa, briefcase opened already, fingertips flicking through thick wads of paper. His glasses had magically appeared on the tip of his nose and Jongin couldn’t help but sigh in defeat. It had been like this for a while, sweet yet fleeting conversations between Sehun’s intense work intervals. It appeared that tonight would be no different.</p>
<p>“Sehunnie,” Jongin’s voice blurted from the kitchen, a hint of longing laced with the pet name, “Please eat dinner first, the papers can wait.”</p>
<p>“The papers can wait but Chanyeol can’t, he needs this proposal by six o’clock at most,” Sehun paused to look at his watch, and upon seeing the time, scoffed and rubbed at his forehead, “I’m behind already.”</p>
<p>Oh Chanyeol was four years older than Sehun, and while the younger was at university, he had been working at an office as an IT Assistant. He was frequently on call from the workers to fix the old, clunky computers that seemed light-years behind modern technology. He’d quit his job on a whim to develop a new range of office-friendly technology and enlisted the help of his newly graduated brother. The details went over Jongin’s head a little but he could tell it was exhausting; starting a company from scratch with nothing but a small family loan and a scrap of faith was going to be anything but easy.</p>
<p>Jongin wanted and wished for success for the brothers; to see Sehun and his hyung accomplish something they’d worked tirelessly on for almost two years so their family could be proud of them was everything to Jongin. It just hurt to see Sehun carry so much on his shoulders, especially with the impending risk that without proper proposals they wouldn’t be able to get financial backers and sponsors, and it would all be for nothing. It scared Jongin so much so his gut wrenched as he dished up his boyfriend’s meal.</p>
<p>
  <em>“If you give so much of yourself now, you’ll burn out and have nothing left in you for when the business succeeds.” </em>
</p>
<p>The statement floated around the elder’s mind but never materialised into speech. Jongin had said it to his boyfriend more than once over the last few weeks, but Sehun wouldn’t listen, or perhaps, he now purposely ignored it. It was the reason Jongin didn’t bother saying it anymore. As stated, he knew Oh Sehun best, and Oh Sehun wouldn’t rest until the task was complete.</p>
<p>All the dancer could do was sit at their little kitchen table, poking at his food with his chopsticks, listening to the faint mumbles of his boyfriend in the next room and the scratching of pen to paper. The sinking sun behind the jungle of skyscrapers creating a bold orange sky couldn’t distract Jongin’s eyes from his working boyfriend.</p>
<p>It was the routine that they had sadly fallen into.</p>
<p>Seven o’clock came around with the ticking of the clock. In that time, Jongin had washed his own dishes and wiped down the kitchen counters until they sparkled. He had tiptoed around the flat to water the plants as Sehun grumbled to Chanyeol down the phone, glasses now pushed into his hair on his forehead, his food untouched in the colourful bowls beside him.</p>
<p>Jongin knew that Sehun still loved him. He could feel it every day in his heart, whenever the younger smiled at him or bumped his hip in the kitchen. Late one night, Jongin had awoken in an empty bed and crept to the kitchen to get a glass of water only to see a sleepy Sehun standing by the bookcase, dusting over Jongin’s little trinkets with such care while his laptop rebooted itself that little tears sprang to the elder’s eyes. The dancer was so sure of Sehun being his soulmate that he would have pinned his life on it. It was just, deep down in his heart, he knew that as much as Sehun loved him he needed the time to love the project, and the company, more.</p>
<p>The realisation had come while Jongin showered in the tiny bathroom, and once the thought arose in his head, it wouldn’t be erased. It was like knowing an obscure fact about a particular film, and every time you viewed it, all you can think of is said obscure fact. The hot water wouldn’t wash it away. The condensation didn’t cause it to simply dissipate into thin air. The large navy towel rubbing against his skin didn’t erase it either. When Jongin dried his body, moisturised slowly and wrapped himself in some loose sweats and a knit jumper, he peeked from the bedroom doorway to Sehun. His boyfriend was now chewing slowly on the food, no doubt stone cold, chopsticks in one hand as his other hand flicked through a business textbook from his university days.</p>
<p>A soft smile covered Jongin’s face as he watched his love from afar but, there it was, that little voice in the back of his head whispering the truth.</p>
<p>He felt sick as he realised that this would be his fate now, whenever Jongin would look across his boyfriend’s face, all he would think of was the all-important realisation rumbling inside his gut. Kim Jongin’s gut was never wrong, especially when a matter regarded Sehun and his needs. He managed three working days, forcing smiles, hanging onto flickers of fleeting conversations, his soul crying out for more than Sehun telling him he smelt like lilies, carnations, and then on the Friday, dahlias.  </p>
<p>He’d packed a bag while Sehun worked and hidden it under the bed, but in the end, he hadn’t needed to. Sehun would have never come across a heavy duffle bag stuffed with Jongin’s folded shirts and jeans because the younger had scribbled and typed until he’d passed out on the sofa. He hadn’t shut the blinds from the previous night so the spring sunshine loitered across his slumbering body, his face not twitching once, lips parted just so. He was still dressed in his shirt and slacks from work and Jongin’s pastel yellow knit throw was loosely covering Sehun’s torso as he crept out of the bedroom on the Saturday morning.</p>
<p>Jongin crept carefully and slowly, knowing which floorboards would betray his quest with a loud creak, the bag over his shoulder. His heart was so heavy it felt like it was going to fall from his chest and slump onto the floor with a loud thwack. The dancer bit onto his bottom lip with such a passion so that no sob would pass. His hand lingered softly as he brushed Sehun’s hair from his face, eyes glassing over as his knuckles brushed over Sehun’s cheeks, but he knew what he had to do and it was for the best.</p>
<p>He placed the letter on Sehun’s chest, where the male would find it immediately and Jongin’s heart-pour wouldn’t go unnoticed or lost in a pile of paperwork, and with a rocky sigh and the will of a brewing cry, the elder left their home.</p>
<p>He rushed down the stairs clutching at the large duffle bag as if his life depended on it. His light blue jeans felt as if they were scratching at his bare legs, trainers clumpy around his feet, and the baggy, beige knitted cardigan that was buttoned around his bare torso felt bunched up and in the way. He couldn’t see the stairs due to the tears in his eyes and when he reached the sidewalk outside of their building, the light and warmth of the spring sunshine felt utterly awful.</p>
<p>The male hesitated for a moment. He could rush back upstairs, rip up the letter and pretend nothing ever happened, Sehun would be none the wiser, but he couldn’t. His boyfriend needed space and time to become his best self and find success with his brother. Jongin loved Sehun with his whole heart and being – this wasn’t necessarily a break up – it was just a break, until the younger flourished enough that he would have time to look after himself, and eventually, Jongin. He hadn’t realised his friend Mark had pulled up in his car until a horn sounded and brought him from his misery.</p>
<p>Jongin’s feet leapt into action as he bundled into the front seat of the small car, but his throat let out an almighty sob the minute his butt hit the seat, and tears spilled over in mass as he shut the car door. He couldn’t even get his seatbelt on, he just hunched over his duffle bag and cried for God knows how long. Mark rubbed at his back and let out a sigh.</p>
<p>“Oh man, Kai, I’m sorry,” he spoke softly.</p>
<p>“P-please just drive,” Jongin huffed out between sobs.</p>
<p>Mark Lee made no noise, barely even breathed as he glanced over Jongin’s slumped over form, glancing to his shuddering shoulders and fists clenched into his hair. Jongin looked up, eyes red raw and lip wobbling, met Mark’s wary face. He nodded once and his friend got the memo immediately. Mark leaned across, carefully buckling his friend into the front seat, and drove off.</p>
<p>Jongin can’t really remember the journey from home to Mark’s place, except for the tissue he kept pressed against his cheeks and the way his throat just kept caving into louder sobs. He remembers shuffling into the little house and Mark ushering him into the freshly made guest room. Jongin had laid there crying for three days, and after the three days passed, a long shower and a bowl of unappetising soup, Jongin had checked his phone.</p>
<p>There had been no message from Oh Sehun.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Dear Sehun ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>✿ ❀</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sehunnie,</p>
<p>I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I’ll always love you, that’s why I had to do this. You need the space and time to work hard and accomplish everything you’ve been working so hard for, and with me around, I don’t think you can do that. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t say it face to face but I’d have never had the guts to leave you like this with you in front of me. I don’t want to leave you, please don’t think of this as a break up, unless me doing this causes you to want to break up. I see this as a break, some time, time for you to be who you need to be. That’s why I’m not taking all my stuff, I want to come back to you and us, when we’re both ready.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry Sehun. I’ll love you and find you.</p>
<p>I left dahlias in the window.</p>
<p>Jongin</p>
<p> </p>
<p>✿ ❀</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Two ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Two years on after Jongin left Sehun, Byun Baekhyun enters his wedding planning business with big, wedding dreams and an even bigger budget. Guess who he's marrying. Cocktails ensue. ✿ ❀</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>✿ ❀</p><p>Two Years Later</p><p>✿ ❀</p><p> </p><p>The spring sunshine made everything feel better, was Jongin’s newfound philosophy, as he rushed through the crowds towards work. Just one careless elbow could cause the tray of hot coffees in his hands to spill down his new suit, and he didn’t want to spend the first half of his morning appointment drying his shirt under the dryers in the ladies toilets and wasting the time of his new client. It won’t be the best way to make a first impression, he huffed to himself, battling the crowds as his workplace came into sight.</p><p> He had slept through his alarm and so hadn’t had enough time to shower this Monday morning, but since he was the newest and youngest in the office, he didn’t like to arrive at the start of the week without coffee for the ladies in the office. Naturally, the Starbucks line was out of the door and round the corner but as he reached his own workplace and pushed the glass door open with his shoulder, it didn’t matter.</p><p>The ladies who were downstairs rushed to greet him with smiles, relieving him of the coffees and instead thrusting baked goods and fruit at him. He realised that his life was somewhat of a cliché, being an openly gay man working at a wedding planners surrounded by glamorous women, but there wasn’t a day he didn’t love it. His experience working in the florist had made him the official opinion giver on flowers, rumour was that brides flocked to Eclipse Events just to gain Jongin’s floral approval. The male thought it was just a rouse created by his co-workers.</p><p>“Kai, you sweetie, thank you!” Selene cooed, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she took her coffee, “I thought you were going to miss your nine o’clock!”</p><p>“Me too,” Jongin sighed in relief.</p><p>He thanked the ladies for the breakfast before heading up the stairs to his own little desk. The downstairs was a pretty meeting area and lobby, for the happy couples to enter and be greeted with champagne, before sitting in one of the cosy seating areas to consult and plan out their big day. Upstairs, Jongin and the ladies sat, being the chaotic location of angrily ringing after catering companies or desperately crafting makeshift table decorations for brides in need.</p><p>The male sighed and allowed himself to relax for a solid five minutes, sipping from his own coffee and chewing eagerly at a banana as his computer loaded up. Brushing his chestnut brown hair back from his face, Jongin barely had time to glance at his diary to see just who he was meeting before the bell on the shop door rang out through the old building. His name was called, most likely Selene, and he abandoned his fruit and coffee to reach for his diary and leather binder. He’d had it especially made and personalised so that he could write notes for the happy couples and keep them safely organised.</p><p>His legs reached the bottom of the stairs with an automatically friendly smile etched onto his face. By the main desk was a young man stood alone. He had golden blonde hair with darkened roots and the ends looked as if it were poking him in the eyes. He had long limbs belonging to a slightly short body, and the scruffy trainers tied onto his feet were juxtaposition to the wide leg pants, shirt and blue jumper he was wearing. There was a wide smile on his face and as Jongin approached him, he bobbed excitedly on the spot, his hands covered by the sleeves of his coat as he all but threw a hand toward him to shake.</p><p>Jongin laughed softly as he took it, shaking the male’s hand, trying to balance his folder under his arm. The short male looked like a kid at Christmas and the excitement was infectious. It always was in the wedding shop.</p><p>“Baekhyun Byun?” Jongin paused, watching the male nod excitedly, “I’m Kai Kim. I’ll be your wedding planner!”</p><p>He ushered the male across to three, white lounge chairs beside a bright window. Jongin settled into one opposite Baekhyun, and after Selene brought over a glass of customary champagne for Baekhyun, the taller offered him a smile.</p><p>“Are we waiting for your partner to arrive?”</p><p>“Not today,” Baekhyun informed with a bubbly laugh, clutching at the champagne, “I’m the one with the good ideas, he’s just the wallet.”</p><p>Jongin let out a laugh although it was a phrase he heard quite often at Eclipse Events. There were some brides who never even permitted their other halves to even set foot inside of the building, which always confused Jongin, he’d want to share every tiny detail of his wedding with the one he loved. Plus, there was something so sweet and genuine about Baekhyun’s smile that Jongin felt rather at ease.</p><p>“Well, tell me everything!” Jongin asked excitedly, clicking his pen and finding a fresh page to take notes on, “Do you have any venue ideas, or a specific date? Tell me about your fiancée.”</p><p>Baekhyun enthusiastically answered each of Jongin’s questions methodically, even though his voice rose a level or so in his excitement, floating through the building. He chattered off about an outside event, possibly on a pretty rooftop, a beautiful outdoor space but still with a secluded privacy for the grooms and their guests. He was hoping for late summer, toward September, where it would be warm and sunny but he and his fiancée wouldn’t be sweating profoundly in their suits for the photographs.</p><p>He also stated that he wanted the most extra photographs and made sure that Jongin underlined that twice.</p><p>“Chanyeol just keeps saying he doesn’t care for the little details, he just wants to marry me, which as sweet as it is, doesn’t help me with possible colour schemes,” Baekhyun continued, pausing to sip at the champagne.</p><p>Jongin stopped writing and glanced up at Baekhyun with curiosity.</p><p>Had he heard the excitable male correctly? The immediate pang in his chest told him that he had but his ears didn’t want to be too heady. Jongin was going to ignore the niggling feeling in his chest and simply pass it off as another Chanyeol that lived in the city of Chicago, but was too late, Baekhyun’s eyes flashed with a inquisitiveness that reached his smile.</p><p>“Have you heard of my fiancé, Chanyeol Oh?”</p><p>Jongin heard himself laugh out loud but he wasn’t sure why. He could hear the question roll around on repeat in his head, so much so he dropped his pen and fumbled for a good minute and a half to retrieve it. Once it was back in his hand he automatically clicked it, which closed the tip, and so he had to awkwardly click it again, obviously flustered.</p><p>He knew Chanyeol Oh, yes, he did. Flashing images flickered through his mind, faint memories of Jongin sat between the Oh brothers in the pub during the St Patrick’s Day celebrations, clinking beer glasses and laughing loudly at long forgotten jokes. He remembered when Chanyeol had sprained his ankle and couldn’t put weight on it for a week, and so he popped into his flat once a day to drop off fresh flowers and make sure he wasn’t walking on it. He even remembered the three of them walking through Navy Pier, Chanyeol’s competitive streak making itself known as he jumped from stall to stall, determined to win he and Sehun endless bears and candy floss.</p><p>Jongin visibly bit onto his lip. <em>Oh Sehun. </em></p><p>Everyone knew of the successful Oh brothers from their Forbes ‘30 under 30’ debut around a year ago. Jongin wanted to play innocent and not let on his tie to the Oh brothers but it was too late. Baekhyun had seen the strange expression that had fluttered across Jongin’s soft features and the blonde had immediately leaned forward in his seat, his little hand clutching at the champagne flute. His face dropped a little and his eyes, from behind the veil of blonde hair, softened in a sad way that still looked irresistibly adorable.</p><p>No wonder Chanyeol had put a ring on his finger, he had always found soft, cute things utterly irresistible.  </p><p>“Oh no, is he an ex-boyfriend? I’m sorry! I can meet with someone else instead, or,”</p><p>“No, no,” Jongin quickly cut him off and forced a smile.</p><p>Baekhyun’s voice was urgent but quiet as he had spoken, and care was written across his handsome features, which Jongin couldn’t decide if it made him feel better or worse. He realised he was still fumbling with the stupid pen and so placed it on his leather binder and slapped his hands over it determinedly.</p><p> “It’s nothing like that, I promise. We used to be good friends a few years ago but, well, I knew, I,” <em>– Just say his name, Jongin, stop floundering and say his name –</em> “Me and his brother, me and, <em>I and</em>,”</p><p>“Wow,” Baekhyun suddenly deadpanned.</p><p>The male pushed the rest of the champagne flute across the table and looked over Jongin as if his sweet little eyes knew everything already. Jongin supposed he probably did, from the way his words spluttered out like indecisive word vomit and how he couldn’t even bring Sehun’s name past his throat. The previous thought of him spending the morning drying spilled coffee from his suit in the ladies toilets didn’t seem so bad now. Jongin knew he shouldn’t drink while at work, but he downed the champagne so fast the dry bubbles almost shot up his nose.</p><p>Baekhyun held onto the sides of his seat and hutched it toward Jongin in interest, leaning forward to visually interrogate the wedding planner, even though there was a small smile on his face.</p><p>“Were you in a relationship with Oh Sehun?”</p><p>“Yes,” Jongin sighed even though a strange smile hovered over his face, “And now I’m planning his brother’s wedding.”</p><p>Baekhyun laughed slightly, Jongin tried too but both parties knew the sound he produced was half-heartedly fake. The wedding planner felt utterly overwhelmed by the universe’s sudden path for him. It was barely ten o’clock in the morning and he was ready to call it a day, head home and stare at his ceiling for three hours.</p><p>“The relationship between a groom and his wedding planner is very special,” Baekhyun suddenly blurted, reaching to place a hand on top of Jongin’s, “From this day on we are bound by blood, sweat and those birds of paradise flowers. Write that down.”</p><p>Jongin laughed genuinely then, and dutifully scribbled down the floral request, before meeting Baekhyun with a smile. Baekhyun Byun was so wonderfully likable that Jongin felt as if he had known him for much longer than he had.</p><p>The male’s gut rumbled into making a decision, and when a sudden thought bounced into his mind, Jongin listened to it. He’d been carrying a heavy guilt in his heart every day since he had left his relationship with Sehun, and their home, even if he knew it was the right thing to do. In helping Baekhyun and Chanyeol have the wedding of their wildest dreams with their friends and family, would he be able to show Sehun that he was sorry for what he once did?</p><p>“Would you still want to plan me and Channie’s wedding? I’d understand if you didn’t, but, you came so highly recommended by my friend Jongdae and his wedding was so beautiful!” Baekhyun started to nervously babble.</p><p>“I could ask you the same, would Chanyeol be comfortable with me working with you? He might not find it appropriate, considering what happened, and what I did,” Jongin countered as his hands slowly found the pen to fiddle with once more.</p><p>“I’ll talk to him, but the past is in the past, that’s what he always says!” Baekhyun’s chair hutched up once more, “It’ll be fine,” Baekhyun then slipped from the chair and dropped to one knee in front of Jongin, hands clasped in front of his chest, “I’m just a groom, kneeling in front of a highly recommended wedding planner, asking him to plan my wedding.”</p><p>“Just for that I should say no,” Jongin laughed.</p><p>He glancing around himself to make sure no one was watching his client somewhat propose to him, the ladies in the office would have a field day if they saw and quiz him all day for it. His cheeks flushed red as he tried to usher Baekhyun back to his feet but the skinny male wouldn’t listen.</p><p>“Don’t make me beg!” Baekhyun’s voice rose an octave, again, rather dangerously.</p><p>“Okay, okay, please get off the floor before my boss sees,” Jongin hissed between laughter.</p><p>Baekhyun grinned triumphantly and plopped back onto the plush white seat with a defiant smile. He wriggled himself comfortable and then huffed a breath so that the edge of his hair was puffed from his eyes. Jongin shook his head as a voice in the back of his mind wondered just what he’d gotten himself into.</p><p>“That’s how I got Chanyeol to go on a date with me, but like, on a more dramatic and louder scale,” Baekhyun then declared, “In public!”</p><p>Jongin was hardly surprised.</p><p>✿ ❀</p><p>The downtown bar was loud and packed out as Jongin sat facing Baekhyun in a big booth, 2-4-1 cocktails covering the table between them. The plush seats were well worn and squeaked against every movement of Jongin’s body, and the wooden table was sticky from whoever had sat in their place before they’d come along. It was warm from the hub of bodies crowding the bars and Jongin was rather glad of the thin, tropical shirt hanging loosely from his torso. Baekhyun was in a large t-shirt that was covered in bold patterns and Japanese lettering, his hair becoming fluffier with every subconscious ruffle of his hand, and the mild humidity of the bar.</p><p>The younger wasn’t expecting to see his client again so soon, a whole 24 hours after their initial meeting, to be exact. But, Baekhyun had demanded they meet for drinks to get to know each other and Jongin felt powerless to turn it down. He wasn’t the type of person who could turn a few hump day mojitos down and it showed. He was weak for the call of a bar and good company.</p><p>When Baekhyun had pushed the cocktail menu toward Jongin – the venue was his choice, and he apparently knew it by heart – the shining silver band around caught the wedding planner’s eye. The older gushed immediately as his fingers waved dramatically, bringing more attention to the glittering green emerald set across the band, and Jongin couldn’t help but whistle out in admiration. Baekhyun’s eyes glittered along with the jewel as a pretty smile sat on his face.</p><p> “Channie pretty much designed it himself, he said he wanted something classic like him, yet sparkly like me,” Baekhyun breathed dreamily, the story still affecting him with as much love as the first time he told it, “It’s my birthstone!”</p><p>“It’s so beautiful, Baekhyun,” Jongin breathed with one last look to the piece.</p><p>He remembered the days when Chanyeol would forget to buy his date a beer. Baekhyun truly must have been a special person to unlock such a caring, even devoting side of the eldest Oh brother. It made him ever so curious to see what the couple were like once together; he and Sehun frequently teased Chanyeol’s bumbling love life. Jongin took a long sip of his mojito, recollecting the reappearance of the Oh brother’s in his life.</p><p>“Channie calls you Jongin,” Baekhyun paused, spine straightening in excitement, “I realised I’ve seen you before, in his old instagram pics! I never thought of it until he showed me last night. Can I call you Jongin?”</p><p>Jongin nodded freely. He tended to go by his American name Kai so often that he forgot what it was like to have people call him by his true name, people that weren’t his close friends and family.</p><p>“We all used to be so close, I think that’s why I felt so shell-shocked the other day. It was like, what I thought I’d left behind in the past blew up in my face,” Jongin sipped again, in thought, “Not that that’s a bad thing.”</p><p>“Honestly, I think Channie was too intrigueged to hear about you, and how we met, to be angry or upset on Sehun’s behalf,” Baekhyun paused to slurp loudly from the straw of his wiki wiki, made up of more leaves and kiwis than anything else, “He quizzed me all about you, and if you were doing well!”</p><p>Jongin’s brow rose ever so in surprise. He couldn’t remember Chanyeol ever being a walking bad temper, anyway, but surely he must have harboured some bad feeling for Sehun’s sake? The wedding planner supposed that as well as he knew Sehun deep down in his heart, he wasn’t sure how the break would have affected him, and he drank the thought away.</p><p>“I told him you were a flourishing, successful wedding planner who wore well cut suits and had nice skin,” Baekhyun then announced with a grin.</p><p>“I’m also a Father of one poodle,” Jongin chuckled.</p><p>Baekhyun’s hand slapped on the table immediately and made the glasses there clink together from the sudden impact. The male leaned across with such determined eyes that Jongin visibly flinched.</p><p>“Show me a god damn photo of your dog right now.”</p><p>Jongin laughed, and now it was his turn to show something off with pride, flicking through an endless folder of photos on his phone of his little Monggu, the not-so-toy poodle, who he’d brought as a puppy only to watch continuously grow. Baekhyun seemed like a puppy himself, perched forward in the booth, the tip of his tongue peeking out from his lips excitedly. Jongin watched the male and smiled, his heart felt so full for Chanyeol and Baekhyun. He could tell that Baekhyun would be the type of partner to pull his fiancé away from his laptop when the night drew in so that they could actually enjoy the evening; God knows the Oh brothers needed people like that.</p><p>After a few drinks and light conversation, something began lingering in Jongin’s mind that he couldn’t quite shift, no matter how many funny stories Baekhyun told him about his own university days and what not. As the male leaned forward and chomped lazily on a piece of fruit from a cocktail, Jongin couldn’t resist any longer.</p><p>“Can I ask how you and Chanyeol met?”</p><p> Baekhyun sat up eagerly with sparkly eyes. The male chewed so quickly on the piece of melon that Jongin thought he might choke. The smile on Baekhyun’s face was so blissfully happy it felt contagious.</p><p>“Of course!” Baekhyun all but cheered, “It’s the cutest story ever. I had a job interview, and I was so nervous about it, spent all morning making sure I was dressed nice and practising the perfect handshake but I got the address mixed up. The company I was interviewing for’s building was next to Channie and Sehun’s building, and back then they were still building, so I was walking through this empty, barren building with like wires hanging out the ceiling until I <em>finally</em> came across someone and it was Chanyeol!”</p><p>Jongin tried to be a good person and listen avidly to Baekhyun’s story but he couldn’t fight the feeling a rather envious snake had circled itself round his shoulders to whisper into his ear how he’d never seen the Oh building. With Sehun, it was always a case of “I want you to see the finished product” rather than the journey of the destination.</p><p>“We were both so confused! He didn’t know how I’d even managed to get into the building, I had no idea where this interview was, but somehow we just got talking, for hours. We exchanged numbers, we were going to meet the next day for coffee, but,” Baekhyun’s excited trail or words came to a slow, “At the time he said something had come up with his brother. Later on, I learnt that it was because Sehun’s partner left him suddenly.”</p><p>The strange silence that followed across the two males was almost eerie. Jongin had had a lingering feeling in his gut that somehow, however fun this meet-over-drinks would be, something would come from it to haunt him. Here it was.</p><p>“The day you and Chanyeol met was the day I left Sehun,” Jongin spoke, and yet didn’t quite know why.</p><p>Baekhyun reached across and held onto Jongin’s hands, but the younger didn’t feel like he deserved such a supportive or comforting gesture. He knew his past actions had been the right path to follow, but nevertheless he still felt the guilt, the heartache and the responsibility for however his ex-partner had felt. There was a time Jongin hoped for a venomous text message for his actions, or a spiteful voicemail so that he could hear the anger in Sehun’s voice and deserve the trouble that he caused in the younger’s heart.</p><p>But it never came.</p><p>“You were a really taboo subject for a whole year or so. I met all of Chanyeol’s friends, even his parents, before he even allowed me to meet Sehun. No one,” Baekhyun stopped himself, visibly biting his lip.</p><p>He removed his soft hands from Jongin’s and instead fiddled with a rather soggy beer mat from the table. Jongin didn’t want to know what was about to come next, and yet.</p><p>“Please tell me,” he pleased, his voice reduced to the loudest whisper he could muster over the noise of the bar.</p><p>Baekhyun looked pained, and Jongin felt like maybe Chanyeol had told him something never to repeat to anyone else, and yet here he was squirming and going red from being so tight-lipped. It took a whole minute before the male flung the beer mat and slapped his hands over Jongin’s once more.</p><p>“Don’t say anything, okay?” Baekhyun barely gave Jongin the chance to breathe, let alone promise him, “Sehun never left the apartment. He only lets certain people in it because he doesn’t want anyone to move or get rid of your stuff. He’s kept it all, hell, I’ve only been in there once because Sehun was on a business trip and I’d bugged Channie enough to show me.”</p><p>Jongin couldn’t help but lean back in the booth and try to catch his breath at the information. Was Baekhyun for real?</p><p>“How could he keep all of my stuff as if I’d died and yet never reach out to me in all that time?” Jongin’s tongue snapped with an anger he didn’t realise he felt.</p><p>Baekhyun had flinched slightly at the sudden icy tone of Jongin’s voice, but didn’t remove his hands from where he was holding the younger’s, only offered a sad smile.</p><p>“Maybe for him…you had?”</p><p>The phrase hit Jongin like a brick wall and it must have been obvious across his face and body because Baekhyun began squeezing his hands ever so tightly.</p><p>“I really want us to be friends, Jongin! Surely this must be fate. I’d love for you to plan me and Channie’s wedding, you already know him so well, you feel like an old friend to me, like a piece of the Oh brother puzzle that’s been lost under a couch for years,” Baekhyun’s rambling words stopped and a genuine flash of care hazed over his eyes, “But if you really don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. I won’t make you, Jongin, not if it hurts.”</p><p>It was now Jongin’s turn to squeeze Baekhyun’s small hands in his palms. He was going through with this wedding in Sehun’s honour, he had decided that on their first initial meeting, nothing would change it. Wedding parties always varied depending on the bride and groom. Sometimes Jongin would end up meeting the bride’s entire family and be thrust into all their affairs, whereas other times, he would scarcely meet the groom. With Baekhyun to trust and confide in, Jongin hoped the process would mirror the latter, and plus they wanted to be married within this year.</p><p>Five months of Oh brother involvement and then Jongin’s life could return to its hectic work-gym-dog loving ratio.</p><p>“Baekhyun, you’re getting a Kai Kim wedding, I promise,” Jongin smiled as Baekhyun burst into a grin, “Let’s just keep this from Sehun for a while, okay?”</p><p>“Okay!” Baekhyun agreed happily.</p><p>The elder lunged across the table, knocking over an empty cocktail glass to throw his arms around Jongin’s neck and hug him tightly. What Baekhyun had said to him about the Oh brothers puzzle had really resonated with Jongin, and deep down he felt like Baekhyun would be the person to fill him in on the present, whereas he would provide the past.</p><p>✿ ❀</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Three ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Enter Oh Chanyeol, a possible wedding venue and a whole bucket of feelings for Jongin.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had taken Jongin two weeks before he finally came into contact with Oh Chanyeol. It wasn’t because of himself, though, but because the businessman had been so busy pushing a new international deal he hadn’t had the time to join Baekhyun on any wedding planning until the deal had been made. Baekhyun had left Jongin an eager voice clip through iMessage that O.C.S Systems – <em>O(h) C(hanyeol) S(ehun)</em> – was now retailing their products in Australia and New Zealand.</p>
<p>Jongin couldn’t help but wonder what Sehun must have thought after that successful deal. His ex-boyfriend would sit at his crowded desk for hours into the night, aching muscles and tired eyes, going over each and every number. Jongin would massage his thumbs into Sehun’s shoulders and on rare nights could coax him into bed to lie beside him. He would hold his boyfriend and run his hands through his hair, even if the stress Sehun held was too far embedded into the younger’s bones to release.</p>
<p>“I don’t know how we’re going to do it,” Sehun would whisper into Jongin’s neck, curled up beside the younger, “I don’t know if we’re going to do it.”</p>
<p>All Jongin could be was proud from afar, even if he felt he didn’t deserve to be.</p>
<p>On the Oh-Byun wedding front, the most important factor Jongin wanted to tick off was location. Once the location was chosen and booked, the rest would follow easily, like floral arrangements, a guest list and catering. Jongin and Baekhyun had driven out to a pretty park setting but the elder didn’t like the lack of privacy. It wasn’t that Baekhyun was picky; the male just envisioned something so wonderful and grand and perfect in his mind that the real city around him was struggling to live up to. The ladies in Jongin’s office told him a lot of happy couples tended to do the same thing.</p>
<p>Today, he was meeting Baekhyun and Chanyeol at the 31<sup>st</sup> Street Harbour to look at a potential venue with beautiful views of the marina and the city. Jongin was naturally nervous – shitting himself to be exact – and had been chewing his nails all morning until it was time to get in the car and head over. Baekhyun had offered they come and collect him, but in all of Jongin’s worst-case scenarios, Chanyeol decided to verbally destroy Jongin for what he did in the past. Being stuck in a car in Chicago city traffic with an angry Oh brother was the last place on Earth Jongin wanted to be. Travelling in his own car meant Jongin could safely pull over and cry at the wheel, should needs be, and he could bring a special passenger.</p>
<p>The drive seemed laboriously longer than it should have been. Each song that played on the radio felt as if it was taking it’s time to finish and change onto the next. The spring sunshine was high in the sky and Jongin had been fiddling with the car windows all the way over to the harbour. If he had smoked, he was sure he would have gotten through a whole damn pack by the time he pulled up into a parking bay and gathered his things.</p>
<p>Oh Chanyeol was the loud one, the emotional one, the one who spoke before thinking. At this point, Jongin didn’t know whether he should dread the stony, stoic silence of Sehun’s anger or Chanyeol’s feisty words shooting at him from all angles of a room. Baekhyun had said that Chanyeol hadn’t said anything out of turn about it, but maybe that could all change the minute he sees Jongin?</p>
<p>Jongin greeted the venue owner and stood alone in the wedding room. The tables were pushed to the sides and the chairs were stacked but it was a big, beautiful space with ceiling to floor windows to allow guests to enjoy the views. As he placed his trusty leather binder onto the closest table, Jongin stood by the window, counting the minutes until a part of his past bundled into his present. Monggu had been curiously pottering around, smelling table legs curiously only to retreat to Jongin’s ankles, circle them and then repeat the cycle. He knew how much Baekhyun wanted to meet the poodle and figured he might soften Chanyeol up too.</p>
<p>When the door creaked open, Monggu barked happily and charged across the space toward the newcomers, to which Baekhyun let out a gleeful noise. He all but flung himself at the beautifully laminated floor to greet the dog and fuss over him. Jongin laughed softly until he realised that whom he had feared wasn’t there.</p>
<p>“You brought Monggu! Hi pretty puppy!” Baekhyun giggled, squishing the puppy’s face and squealing at the results.</p>
<p>The poodle jumped and pawed all over Baekhyun. Jongin hoped the pooch wouldn’t become too excitable and possibly ruin Baekhyun or Chanyeol’s clothes.</p>
<p>“Venue picking can be stressful, I thought you might want something fluffy and soft to aid you through the process,” Jongin laughed.</p>
<p>Or maybe Jongin wanted something soft and fluffy to aid him through this process. The other plus side was that Monggu was incredibly biased to him; if Chanyeol came in all guns blazing Monggu would definitely tell him to fuck off, in one way or another. The wedding planner glanced to the door again. Baekhyun caught the look and smiled softly, standing up again to walk the few steps toward Jongin. Monggu followed although this time he nuzzled his nose against Jongin’s suit leg, as if sensing his unease.</p>
<p>“He’s just finishing up a call downstairs,” Baekhyun informed lowly, reaching out to squeeze Jongin’s arm, “Are you okay? I promise he’s not angry, if anything I think <em>he’s </em>the nervous one, he ate three bagels this morning.”</p>
<p>“I know him, Baekhyun, I know what his moods can be like,” Jongin groaned.</p>
<p>“You knew him pre-Byun Baekhyun!” Baekhyun laughed as he shook the younger’s shoulders, “He’s so happy and loving now. He’s just a big ol’ puppy.”</p>
<p>Jongin didn’t panic when the door was gently pushed open because he thought it was a staff member. But then he realised, as he gazed over Baekhyun’s shoulder, the male walking into the space was simply a very dressed down Chanyeol. It was a sight he hadn’t seen in years, he’d been so used to the Oh brother’s transition to pressed shirts and dress pants that jeans and a tee seemed…strange.</p>
<p>“Yes, I won’t forget, okay, bye,” Chanyeol’s voice boomed into the space.</p>
<p>He removed the large phone from his ear and tapped against it, silencing the device, before pushing it into his rear jean pocket. He seemed broader and taller than Jongin remembered and his bare biceps could have been the size of Baekhyun’s head. He ruffled a hand through his own hair before greeting a curious Monggu with a playful scratch under the chin.</p>
<p>“What won’t you forget?” Baekhyun asked simply with the dreamiest smile.</p>
<p>“I don’t know, nothing important,” Chanyeol shrugged before glancing across to Jongin.</p>
<p>The couple could see the rather obvious panic across Jongin’s features because they looked at each other as if on the same wavelength. Chanyeol seemed so different and yet so the same all at once. The wedding planner stuck out an awkward arm in preparation for a handshake as his cheeks flushed nervously.</p>
<p>“Don’t be stupid, Jongie,” Chanyeol sighed with a smile.</p>
<p>Jongin didn’t realise what had happened until his body was against the eldest Oh brother’s and his mind processed the light hug. All at once he could smell the drugstore aftershave the elder still used as if no time had gone by. The smell alone caused Jongin to pinpoint the last time he’d seen the male, before he left Sehun, when the three of them had attended an Oh family dinner and Chanyeol ended up crashing on their sofa, singing drunkenly. He wondered if Chanyeol’s mind had dragged back to the same memory.</p>
<p>Monggu let out a bark that echoed around the room as his lean body whisked under a table to the large windows, barking at seagulls swooping over the marina. Chanyeol patted Jongin’s back firmly before releasing him. There was a strange smile etched onto his face that Jongin tried to ignore. Baekhyun’s hand entwined with his fiancés and he let out a soft laugh.</p>
<p>“There, all done! The awkward initiation is over and we can plan a wedding,” Baekhyun paused and glanced over his shoulder, “The guy said he was going to bring up complimentary champagne.”</p>
<p>“It’s barely noon, baby,” Chanyeol chuckled with a glance to the expensive watch on his wrist.</p>
<p>“I’m a bride, Channie. It’s like having a constant birthday, I’m entitled to champagne.”</p>
<p>“Please stop calling yourself a bride, it’s giving me het-closet nightmares,” Chanyeol scoffed with a dorky smile.</p>
<p>The taller of the two must have squeezed Baekhyun’s hand playfully until the other squeaked in mock distress. In such a short amount of time every other pent up emotion that had built inside of Jongin’s nervous body dwindled until all he felt was love and happiness for the couple. It turns out that both he and Baekhyun had been right; yes, Jongin knew the old Chanyeol that never changed, but Baekhyun brought something so new and sweet out of him.</p>
<p>“So this is the venue!” Jongin heard himself blurt as he turned and gestured to the room.</p>
<p>He himself had been here a few times for viewings with past couples so he knew the ropes. He started to talk about possible table layouts and the catering options, and as he pulled up photos of the room on his work iPad, the couple glanced around curiously. Monggu barked again from under a table as if he too was trying to do Jongin’s job. Chanyeol looked across the view as Baekhyun crouched to fuss over Monggu again until the pooch rolled over for belly rubs.</p>
<p>“So,” Chanyeol’s quiet voice came, completely cutting Jongin off about the outside deck and bar, “How have you been?”</p>
<p>The question quite easily took Jongin off guard, especially when he saw the earnestness in Chanyeol’s eyes. When you learnt how to read one of the Oh brothers so well, you ended up learning much about the other in suit. A genuine care was etched into every feature of his face. The planner’s mouth opened and closed, fumbling for a suitable answer, and he knew should he take his navy jacket off there would be sweat marks down his back from nerves alone.</p>
<p>It could easily be a trick question. If Jongin said he was doing really well Chanyeol could scoff and say, ‘without my brother? Wow, you dick’, but if Jongin answered any other way Chanyeol could say, ‘without my brother? Wow, you dick’. </p>
<p>“Good.”</p>
<p>Chanyeol chuckled at the answer and rolled his eyes as he always did, only to look deep into Jongin’s soul and ask the same question again. Jongin sighed and decided to just give the male the truth.</p>
<p>“I’m doing good, I love my job and enjoy it, I have my own little place now with Monggu, it’s nice. Despite how strange and weird this all seems, genuinely, it’s great,” Jongin thought carefully over every word he used and Chanyeol smiled.</p>
<p> “I’m glad to know that you’re well, Jongie, and you and Baek get on like a house on fire. He’s happy as hell and loves hanging with you, and that makes me happy,” Chanyeol scoffed, “Bet ya never thought you’d see the day that happens, huh?”</p>
<p>“I knew it would take someone special,” Jongin rebutted with a soft laugh.</p>
<p>“Special enough to finance the wedding of his wonderfully unique dreams,” Chanyeol paused for a moment and glanced over Jongin, “I’m truly glad that you’re doing well. You have to do what you need to do in life, regardless of a reason as to why or how.”</p>
<p>Chanyeol was using a strange tone and its presence lingered in Jongin’s ears as he nodded. He considered maybe that was the reprimand, the scolding; it could have been Chanyeol’s cryptic way of telling Jongin he hadn’t forgotten the past no matter how many floral arches and pretty napkin holders tried to hide it. Jongin couldn’t help but agree before Monggu jumped up at him and licked at his hands.</p>
<p>“Honestly, hand on heart, truth in all its truthful glory, I don’t see why your niece’s nephew’s cousin’s brother’s best friend’s father who is somehow related to your fifth cousin once removed should be a page boy when we could have a <em>page dog</em>!”</p>
<p>Baekhyun’s cheerful voice broke the strange moment as he wrapped himself around Chanyeol’s arm. Chanyeol’s face and tone instantly lifted into a soft sweetness the minute his fiancée was by his side and he grazed Baekhyun’s nose with his own.</p>
<p>“Baek, Wooyung is only my second cousin, and more importantly, he’s potty trained,” Chanyeol chuckled with a soft kiss to Baekhyun’s forehead, “What do you think of the place?”</p>
<p>The shortest of the three males turned slowly, drinking the place in with his eyes before turning back to his fiancée and the wedding planner.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure yet, I wanna see something more open, like fresh air!” Baekhyun admitted to which the couple looked at Jongin.</p>
<p>“Then that’s what you’ll get, I promise.”</p>
<p>✿ ❀</p>
<p>Jongin groaned, dug his feet into the pavement, turned to Baekhyun and told him: “I really don’t feel comfortable with this.”</p>
<p>He wasn’t lying.</p>
<p>After seeing Oh Chanyeol again, Jongin visited three more venues with them both over the course of a fortnight. The wedding planner naturally understood Baekhyun’s frustration with not feeling, or falling, 100% in love with a venue, but he himself couldn’t help but run out of ideas. Jongin felt as if he’d spent every waking second searching online for possible venues, sending emails to Baekhyun at 3am in a wedding frenzy to which came no avail. Jongin had other clients he had to work with and yet Baekhyun and the Oh brothers hovered in the forefront of his mind, day and night.</p>
<p>He had found a quaint barn a way out of the city which, with some creative ideas and hard work, could be a beautiful venue for the grooms. Jongin had been flicking through paperwork as he sat in Baekhyun’s passenger seat, a more and more familiar place for him to be, when the male abruptly pulled up outside of the prestigious O.C.S building and killed the engine. Jongin felt his blood drain from his body like his feet had been cut off. The wedding planner had spent the last two years avoiding the Oh building with all of his God damn might and now Baekhyun had simply placed him outside of it like it was nothing?!</p>
<p>“Channie purposely left the packed lunch I made him, <em>again</em>,” Baekhyun grumbled as he unclasped his seatbelt, “And I sure as hell won’t allow that pesky office secretary of his to fuss over him, and flirtingly prepare food for him.”</p>
<p>“His secretary is a lady in her sixties,” Jongin replied, knowing this fully well as he once rang her to pass a message on to Chanyeol.</p>
<p>Then again, Jongin had also tasted Baekhyun’s cooking and despite the love and effort that went into it, there was something rather strange about his kimchi lunchboxes that lingered in the mouth. He’d probably purposely leave Baekhyun’s food at home too.</p>
<p>“Everyone knows sixty is the new forty,” the groom-to-be huffed as he reached into the backseat to grab said lunch.</p>
<p> “I’ll wait here.”</p>
<p>Baekhyun grabbed at the brown paper bag and leaned back into his seat. He laughed a little and shook his head, removing the car keys before glancing to Jongin.</p>
<p>“You’re coming inside with me,” Baekhyun sang with sparkling eyes.</p>
<p>“No I’m not,” Jongin all but spat back, sinking into his seat and folding his arms in indignation.</p>
<p>There was absolutely no way in hell he was going to waltz into Oh Sehun’s building like the last few years had never happened, frankly, Jongin saw that as an insult. Chanyeol and Sehun’s building was <em>their</em> place, they built it and renovated it, went into every designed thought. It was their life’s work and Jongin didn’t feel comfortable, or even deserving, of entering. Of course upon saying all of this, Baekhyun rolled his eyes and shrugged it away.</p>
<p> “The past is in the past, Jongin! Sehun is in New York for a business conference anyway so if there’s any time to enter this building, once and for all, it’s now.”</p>
<p>Naturally, an immediate stare down took place in the front of the car and the temperature turned cold. Sehun could be floating on the surface of Mars and he still wouldn’t find entering this building comfortable. Jongin’s indignant eyes were a match for Baekhyun’s convincing furrowed brow as they scowled at each other over the car console. Before the wedding planner could firmly cement himself into his seat with a final refusal, the company valet’s opened both car doors. He heard Baekhyun giggle with delight.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Manny!” Baekhyun sang with a smile as if he wasn’t scolding Jongin a moment ago, “Come on, Jongie!”</p>
<p>Jongin hovered still for a second, watching as Baekhyun brushed himself down on the pavement, brown bag in one hand as the other waved at him eagerly. Jongin only decided to get out when he realised the valet holding open his car door was starting to look impatient. Leaving the paperwork on the seat, he followed Baekhyun warily to the doors where he once again stopped and whined, only to be pulled inside.</p>
<p>“We’ll be in and out within ten minutes. We’ll head straight to Channie’s office, force him to eat his lunch and enjoy it,” <em>automatically that didn’t sound like a ten minute job</em>, “Show you the cute photographs that he has of me on his wall, smooch him a little and then go.”</p>
<p>Baekhyun’s voice echoed off the marble floors they walked upon. From outside the building always looked so dark; another reason it always seemed too imposing for Jongin to be near. It always reminded him of Wayne Enterprises from Batman. The large windows were glazed black to appear sleek and modern beside the dark brick of the classic structure, yet past the large doors being held open by a couple of tall, well-built men in matching security coats, the interiors screamed shiny and new.</p>
<p>Everything their company endorsed was reflected in every glossy surface and each bare brick in the wall; an importance of history with progression. Cleaners worked hard to buff every surface. International clocks lined each wall. It was everything Jongin had ever imagined it to be and more.</p>
<p>Naturally as the CEO’s fiancé, Baekhyun was greeted warmly by the security team, in which he returned with a big smile, their names falling from his lips with ease. It made Jongin like Baekhyun even more as a friend, to know how much care and attention he put into the people around him. Baekhyun had spent most of his adult life flip-flopping from job to job, he’d worked the gruelling telesales hours and the flipped-burgers-on-the-fast-food front, Jongin could tell Baekhyun knew the importance of the little people.</p>
<p>The black marble doors of the large elevators that lined the far wall of the lobby opened slowly and the two entered. Jongin’s work shoes squeaked against the tile. The mirrors that surrounded them were buffed and shined within an inch of their lives; Jongin couldn’t help but think of how Sehun would stand in their little bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, using a cloth to dry the condensation from the medicine cabinet. Jongin had never particularly been messy, but Sehun had always been the one to fluff the pillows perfectly on the sofa, or shine his each of his shoes until they gleamed from the shoe rack. These pristine mirrors had Sehun’s touch all over them.</p>
<p>Jongin felt even more uncomfortable at the thought. He wasn’t sure if it was because the elevator was such a quiet, intimate space with only the two of them in there, but he couldn’t help but look to Baekhyun with a wobbling bottom lip.</p>
<p>“It feels like I’m walking into his house without permission, Baekhyun, I really don’t like this.”</p>
<p>“I’m with you,” Baekhyun spoke first and foremost as he reached out and took hold of Jongin’s hand tightly, “He’s not here, he’s probably sat in some big conference room smelling like coffee and listening to someone babble on about computer technology. Today it’s just you, me and Channie.”</p>
<p>It made Jongin feel somewhat better as the elevator pinged and the marble doors opened again. It was the second to top floor, and even though Jongin was sure all the ten floors of the building were bustling with ant-like people, working and rushing around their day, it was quiet here. There was a long, glass desk on which there were four computers, two of which taken up by a young man, suited and speaking intently to a Bluetooth earpiece, and an old-looking lady with red glasses. A collection of plush, white leather sofas were placed in a feng shui alignment, with a triangular table in the middle and some floor to ceiling screens that played videos of beautiful looking koi fish swimming.</p>
<p>The screens continued across a wall behind the row of secretaries and switched back and forth from flashy material of their company advertisements to snow-topped mountains and breathtaking scenery. Baekhyun stiffened visibly and approached the end of the desk where the elderly woman was sat and the two watched each other like a pair of territorial cats in an alleyway. Jongin rose a curious eyebrow, too distracted by the strange confrontation to realise he was stood in front of not only Chanyeol’s office, but Sehun’s also.</p>
<p>“Betty,” Baekhyun spoke coldly.</p>
<p>“Baekhyun,” Betty replied in a similar tone.</p>
<p>The groom-to-be then tugged Jongin along where their hands were still entwined, walking him around the desks, and the screened wall, until everything became clear glass. The two could see Oh Chanyeol now stood behind a dark mahogany desk that was bigger than all of Jongin’s kitchen counters put together, hunched over, tapping on a touch screen computer. A strange flutter filled Jongin’s gut to see Sehun’s concentrated furrowed brow mirrored in the face of his older brother.</p>
<p>Jongin thought Baekhyun was going to walk plain through the glass wall when a practically invisible sliding door parted for him, and Jongin, to enter. He wondered if Baekhyun ever felt as if he were in a romance novel or film; this had Fifty Shades of Grey vibes written all over it.</p>
<p>“You forgot your lunch, <em>again</em>,” Baekhyun blurted out first and foremost as he skipped across the spans of Chanyeol’s office to greet his fiancé, “But I came to drop it off, and show Jongin the office.”</p>
<p>Chanyeol said and did nothing for a short moment as he continued tapping at the screen in front of him; glasses on the edge of his nose. Baekhyun hovered beside him and clutched at the brown paper bag with a smile in wait. All over again Jongin was taken back to the days of him and Sehun’s relationship and the home they shared. Seeing Baekhyun all too happy to wait for Chanyeol’s attention brought the wedding planner back to the shared meals where he’d ask after Sehun’s parents, only to receive a different response about proposals, spreadsheets, work.</p>
<p> Jongin felt naturally queasy. But then:</p>
<p>“Sorry baby-yah, I just had to finish that email,” Chanyeol greeted with a wide smile.</p>
<p>He stood to his full height and turned to his fiancé, leaning forward to grab at his chin and steal a kiss from his lips, as if no one else in the building mattered. Baekhyun’s sweet face scrunched happily as they parted. An awful voice in Jongin’s head queried that maybe he and Sehun would have been at the same level if he’d never have left and he squashed it indignantly. He tried to distract himself by glancing around the office, noting the sleek cut of the armchairs alongside the rustic shelves, and wondered if the Oh brothers could have dominated the interior design business in another life.</p>
<p>“Jongin,” Chanyeol’s voice then boomed across the office and Jongin turned to meet his eye, “Hey. It’s about time you saw this place, I figured you’d be one of the first to see it.”</p>
<p>Chanyeol’s words were always well-intentioned and yet came off with a protective edge that made Jongin want to gulp guiltily. He felt as if the eldest Oh brother had forgiven him for his actions and yet not forgotten, and if the tables were turned, Jongin knew that he would be the same.</p>
<p>“Hi, this place is amazing, congratulations,” Jongin answered with a half-hearted smile and a nod.</p>
<p>He told Baekhyun that this wasn’t a good idea but his friend wouldn’t listen and now all he wanted was to go home. Being in a space that Sehun had put so much time into made him feel proud in the most undeserving way and Jongin couldn’t stand it anymore. Baekhyun’s mouth opened to speak excitedly but the wedding planner cut him off quickly.</p>
<p>“Is there a bathroom somewhere I could use?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, head past Sehun’s office and you’ll see a labelled door,” Chanyeol informed with an arm hovering around Baekhyun’s waist.</p>
<p>Jongin nodded slightly and turned. He almost pelted into the glass before remembering it was an automatic slide, waited a few seconds for it to pick up he was there, before escaping down the hall. He just needed a quick moment to collect himself, a splash of water on his face and he’d be fine. He was just going to walk straight past Sehun’s office without a glance and head straight for the toilets, like a real adult. He knew he was speed walking past the dividing wall that partitioned the brothers offices, and yet couldn’t help but come to a full on halt.</p>
<p>He turned weakly at the empty office. The layout and furniture somewhat matched Chanyeol’s, the brother’s had such similar tastes, except for the choices of art on the walls and furnishings. Chanyeol had had a case of his trophies and accomplishments whereas Sehun had floor to ceiling bookcases with gorgeous leatherback books on each shelf. It wasn’t the empty, black leather chair behind the desk that made Jongin stop in his tracks, nor the lustrous drinks trolley with expensive whiskey decanters.</p>
<p>On the edge of Oh Sehun’s dark wood desk was the glass milk bottle from their kitchen. It was filled with a handful of blooming white dahlias.</p>
<p>A splash of water on his face would no longer do the trick. Jongin needed good old fashioned air, and after all but sprinting into the elevator, found himself on the rooftop. He had pushed the heavy duty doors open and stepped out onto the empty space to breathe oxygen into his lungs. He couldn’t get the bunch of dahlias from his mind. He shuffled carefully to the edge, where there was a protective brick wall that came to his chest, and he leaned against it to gather his thoughts and look out across the city. Chicago’s buildings provided a beautiful view in one direction whereas the blue spans of Lake Michigan stretched out in the other.</p>
<p>Jongin closed his eyes and inhaled slowly.</p>
<p>
  <em>“I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of flowers to buy a pretty florist.” </em>
</p>
<p>When Jongin opened his eyes he was back behind the desk in the flower shop. His lean, dance-trained body wore his old, green-stained overalls and there was a wilting, orange carnation perched over his ear. The whole shop smelt like a home from home. The old, clunky till was still the same and all the pretty gift tags and ribbons were organised neatly into the shelves below the counter. There was a plaster wrapped around his finger from nicking himself with scissors cutting stems.  </p>
<p>And there Sehun was, <em>as he was</em>, with a young face and a fresh smile. He wore a freshly pressed, sky blue coloured shirt with a pair of dark sunglasses tucked over the first button. His dress pants were a grey check and even then, when he looked like a mere intern, Jongin still lost his breath over him. Jongin could hear his own words being spoken out loud.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Florists can see the beauty in any flower.” </em>
</p>
<p>Sehun had smiled so warmly as he shuffled closer to the desk. On that particular day, they had been the only ones in the shop, and Jongin still wondered if someone had come in and interrupted them, maybe they would have never happened.</p>
<p>
  <em>“What if said florist is as beautiful as the flowers?”</em>
</p>
<p>The way Sehun had spoke was so classically handsome and Jongin still remembered how his American accent had been to die for. It had turned his cheeks the same colour as the carnation over his ear.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Amaryllis’ are a symbol of beauty, and can be given to someone you think is beautiful, but…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“But?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“If you think someone is perfect, you should give them a dahlia.” </em>
</p>
<p>Jongin had turned around at that point and bundled a small bunch of perfectly white dahlias into his hands. When Jongin’s eyes had met Sehun’s, his heart had melted in an instant. Sehun’s face was so soft as he watched the florist cradling the flora, his lips together in a tender smile. Jongin had never really been one for love at first sight, or sparks and magnetic moments. Up until then he’d only concentrated on his studies and making his parents proud in this foreign country.  The love struck look in Sehun’s eyes had mirrored in Jongin’s own and they both knew there was no going back.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Then I’ll take them, and give them to you when I take you to dinner tonight.” </em>
</p>
<p>When Jongin opened his eyes again he was back on the roof in his navy suit, starting to sweat under the spring sunshine and the glare of a hundred city windows that surrounded him. His throat was dry when he peered to the street and saw the florists he used to work in. All this time, had Sehun been going to the same shop to buy the same flowers for his desk?</p>
<p>The sound of the doors pushing open from behind made the wedding planner jump in fright. He turned and shaded his eyes from the sun to see who it was, his heart half-expecting it to be Oh Sehun, magically transported from New York to here like in every romantic drama series he’d ever seen. But of course, in the real world, Byun Baekhyun stumbled onto the roof and shaded his own eyes from the sun. The warm breeze made his blue shirt rustle around his trim body as he made his way to join Jongin.</p>
<p>“I got lost,” Jongin blurted out dumbly.</p>
<p>“Right,” Baekhyun chuckled as he reached Jongin, “You do realise that for safety reasons there’s an alarm on the rooftop doors and the whole security team was panicking at the sight of some lone guy having an existential crisis on a rooftop. Thank gosh me and Channie recognised the back of your head.”</p>
<p>“Shit,” Jongin mumbled as he looked at Baekhyun and rubbed his head.</p>
<p>The other looked at him with caring eyes, his lips not even moving to twitch or smile. Baekhyun always had a sixth sense for knowing when others needed to speak.</p>
<p> “I walked past Sehun’s office and just panicked. I needed fresh air, I, Baek I never thought I’d have to do any of this. I left and Sehun said nothing. I thought that maybe we’d come back together in time but he didn’t reach out or try to find me and the longer time went on, the more I accepted that maybe he just wouldn’t,” Jongin took a deep breath and pushed a hand through his hair, “There’s dahlias in his office! I’m his dahlia, Baekhyun, it’s part of our love story!”</p>
<p>“And he still has your apartment the way it was,” Baekhyun added expertly.</p>
<p>“And he still has our apartment the way it was!” Jongin echoed loudly.</p>
<p>“And neither of you ever saw anyone else,” Baekhyun intervened again, smoothly.</p>
<p>“And neither of us ever,” Jongin paused, curiosity turned up to full volume, “Wait, he never saw anyone else?”</p>
<p>Baekhyun looked at him obviously, and Jongin scoffed at himself, thinking of the previous statements and what this whole conversation had been about. The other leaned and held onto Jongin’s shoulders with a soft grip and a smile to match.</p>
<p>“Kim Jongin, one of these days you’re both going to have to talk to each other about what happened. He’s going to the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself, and as much as I won’t force you, me and Chanyeol would love for you to be there,” Baekhyun squished Jongin’s cheeks, “I would love for you to be there. We’re bound by the Oh brothers, remember?”</p>
<p>“Yeah…yeah, we are,” Jongin mumbled in agreement, “Sorry.”</p>
<p>“Don’t be sorry, silly,” Baekhyun smiled and planted a sweetly platonic kiss on Jongin’s forehead before releasing him from his grip.</p>
<p>The two then stood leant safely against the brick wall and admired the city. Some birds flew overhead and out towards the blue lake, and yet they could hear buses horns honk loudly and the shuttering trains hurtling around the city. Baekhyun added to the noise with a dreamy sigh.</p>
<p>“I love it up here so much. When the company was still small and the building was still being renovated, me and Channie would have picnics up here. We’d lay and wait until we’d see the moon or stars over the lake. Our first kiss was next to a hot dog stand on the pier but our first make out session was up here. Whenever he’s stressed he comes up here and rings me to talk,” Baekhyun’s face breaks into the sweetest smile Jongin’s seen on his face, “It’s so nice up here.”</p>
<p>Jongin straightened up then and turned, glancing back at the large space on the roof, and instead of seeing concrete, brickwork and a heavy duty door, his creative mind saw a wedding arch and rows of perfectly aligned seats. Even though that tiny voice in his mind rebutted at the thought of planning a wedding on Oh Sehun’s building, he knew deep down it was the right thing to do, and smiled in excitement.</p>
<p>“You know what, I’m pretty sure I gave Chanyeol his first ever blowjob up here on this roof,”</p>
<p>“We found it!” Jongin interrupted quickly, “This rooftop means so much to you both, it has beautiful views and privacy, it’s perfect with so much potential, Baek! What do you think?”</p>
<p>Baekhyun looked over his shoulder at the rooftop for a moment and almost instantly Jongin saw the light bulb come on in his head, his face lighting up happily and eyes sparkling. For the next five minutes, Baekhyun bounded around, shouting excitedly about what would go where, before he rushed back over to Jongin and wrapped his arms around his middle to squeeze him into a hug. Jongin was getting quite used to those.</p>
<p>“This is it!” Baekhyun whispered in glee.</p>
<p>Jongin stood on the roof and relished in the long, warm hug from Baekhyun, listening as he continued, his voice muffled by the spring breeze and the wedding planner’s chest.</p>
<p> “When we go downstairs and tell Channie, he’ll definitely offer you some of his expensive office whiskey in celebration, but I secretly drank it all one night and replaced it with root beer so he wouldn’t know, he just thinks it’s some strange special brand, so don’t react weird just pretend to enjoy it.”</p>
<p>✿ ❀</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Just wanted to say a quick thank you to the readers following these updates so far! Everyone's been so lovely I really appreciate it! Remember what I said about slow burn...but Oh Sehun is definitely coming soon❀</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Four ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The wedding draws closer. Jongin gets sick, and in enters.......Mark Lee. ❀</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Around the Eclipse Events wedding planning office, time, and how quickly it flew by in this industry, was a well-known curse. Jongin and the rest of the ladies he worked with often found that planning and giving so much of their own time to strangers often lead to months just flashing by. Jongin had pulled off a beautifully traditional wedding to a local Chicagoan couple and their hoard of 300 guests over the summer, and with that complete, he was able to put all of his devoted time into Chanyeol and Baekhyun and their September ceremony.</p>
<p>Over the course of those few months, spring sunshine turning into summer heat, Jongin hadn’t come across Oh Sehun and it was only now the wedding was so close that he frequently saw Chanyeol. Walking into the O.C.S building and talking on the rooftop with Baekhyun about the dahlias on Sehun’s desk felt like a strange memory now – a fever dream – and with putting so much time into his work he honestly didn’t find himself consumed with thoughts of his previous relationship.</p>
<p>It was natural every so often, of course. His friend Mark had taken to checking Jongin’s kitchen cupboard and quizzing them warily on their contents. Whenever things got too stressful – or Sehun strayed into the ocean of Jongin’s mind – he would either stress-eat or stress-gym. Mark tended to confiscate the packets of pure calorie cookie dough with a judging finger; only to carve into them himself.</p>
<p>“It’s just a few more stressful weeks of planning and setting up and strangling RSVPs out of the straggling guests then I don’t have to see the brothers, or be in the brother’s building, ever again,” Jongin rambled from his place on the sofa, Monggu between his legs, “Except Baekhyun who’s turned into a great friend.”</p>
<p>“Do you really want to spend the rest of your life <em>never</em> knowing how Sehun feels?” Mark countered between bites of sickly cookie dough.</p>
<p>He was getting sick of people asking him this question.</p>
<p>“I’m perfectly fine,” Jongin answered, and had intent to carry his statement on, but Mark carelessly dropped the cookie dough and spoon onto the coffee table with a clang to interrupt him.</p>
<p> “You keep telling yourself that you’ve moved on, and you’re content and something in your brain is like, telling you that you understand why Sehun never reached out but it’s a lie!” Mark suddenly faced him; expressing an emotion the wedding planner had never seen across his face before.</p>
<p>Jongin couldn’t help but rebut in shock. He’d never heard his fun, easy-going friend raise his voice at anything that wasn’t a computer game. Hell, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen Mark frown.</p>
<p>“You wouldn’t be single right now if it wasn’t for Sehun. I mean, look at Johnny! He was <em>obsessed</em> with you but the minute he wanted to get serious and put a label on things you squirmed out of it, for no reason! You did the same thing to that cute actor, Kris?” Mark then huffed, “Don’t even make me go into Kyungsoo territory.”</p>
<p>“Mark!” Jongin couldn’t help but yelp at the sudden attack.</p>
<p>“Can you blame me?! I thought Kyungsoo was going to be the one to bring you out of this bubble and he almost did, but it’s like in that last second of letting everything go a tiny voice in your head said ‘what about Oh Sehun?’ and suddenly Kyungsoo was left out in the cold, just like that!”</p>
<p>Jongin hated hearing the truth, but it was indeed the truth. He’d met Do Kyungsoo when he first started working at Eclipse Events; he had been the manager of an up-and-coming catering company and they’d gotten on like a house on fire. They’d went on dates, Kyungsoo showed him new, great restaurants and in return Jongin took him to hidden away dance bars. At the time, Jongin had thought that maybe this would be where his life would lead, side-by-side with Kyungsoo.</p>
<p>Jongin still remembered the sincerity written in Kyungsoo’s features the last time they’d met, and the way he’d held onto his hand for dear life, as if knowing what Jongin was going to say.</p>
<p>“I’m not saying you’re a bad person, and I’m not saying you should force yourself to be with someone you don’t want to be with,” Mark’s voice turned softer than cotton and Jongin met his eyes, glassily, “My point is that you’re not going to be able to do that until you know where you stand with Sehun.”</p>
<p>Mark Lee was a good friend. He laughed loudly into a space, sometimes spoke without thinking and projected strange thoughts into conversation, he was a video game genius and even at his age still had Harry Potter marathons and threw fancy dress parties, but he was never wrong. Especially with matters like these.</p>
<p>Jongin suddenly felt like he had a water balloon and a timer over his head counting down to the wedding and if he didn’t speak to Sehun by then it would pop and drench him.</p>
<p>“Thanks Mark,” was all Jongin replied, softly.</p>
<p>It was all that was needed and Mark seemed to agree by the smile on his face. He once again reached for the cookie dough and spoon that Monggu had been sneakily trying to sniff at from his position.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you just lectured me like that with chocolate stuck between your front teeth,” Jongin snickered to lighten the mood and ultimately received an elbow to his side.</p>
<p>✿ ❀</p>
<p>By the time of the rehearsal dinner, an American custom that Chanyeol’s side of the family had insisted upon, everything was almost ready. Jongin had been up day and night preparing the rooftop from afar, not daring to enter the building unless he had to. Like any adoring and financially-endowed husband, upon hearing how much Baekhyun wanted to get married on the rooftop he had had builders come in, to smooth over bricks and cover the floor with a beautiful marbled tile that would make the colours of the birds of paradise flowers pop.</p>
<p>Chanyeol had sent his trusted designer over to Jongin, and together, they and Baekhyun produced the roof layout and ordered the custom-made guest chairs, tables, light fixtures and even a handcrafted wedding arch. Sleek, matte black chairs and a squared, angular wedding arch combined the best of Chanyeol’s tastes with the bold orange coloured flowers Baekhyun chose to wrap and adorn everything. It was something that Jongin had never come across or created before, and yet found it so perfectly unique. It was definitely a standout wedding for his ever-growing portfolio.</p>
<p>Four days before the wedding – three days before the rehearsal dinner – two days before Baekhyun’s bachelor party – Jongin caught a nasty summer cold. His trusty leather binder now held a collection of tissues and a shopping list for medicine and fresh fruit. In his lunch breaks at the office he would sit at his desk and put his head over a bowl of steam, not caring for how strange it appeared. He was running on mere hours of sleep, and was pretty sure all he could taste and smell was the vapour rub he applied to his chest religiously.</p>
<p> Nevertheless, he went along to the rooftop with Baekhyun to meet Chanyeol after being told Sehun was on an important working lunch and wouldn’t be around. The custom furniture had now all been delivered and placed in the chosen layout and Jongin was eager to see the final product regardless of his pounding head. Days of endless phone calls with the designer and the delivery team now all paid off. The chairs were aligned perfectly across the marbled roof tile and the wedding arch stood proud and bare in readiness for the fresh flowers to be attached the morning of the ceremony.</p>
<p>Within the O.C.S building there was an entire floor used for faculty or charity events, with the huge glass windows of the wonderful views that mirrored the rest of the building. Chanyeol had had that too retiled in the same marble flooring of the roof and now the space was of the same elk, elaborate matte black tables adorned for the wedding breakfast with golden cutlery and plates already placed meticulously. The wedding planner knew he would have to go over every single one the morning of the wedding to make sure everything was laid out to utter perfection.</p>
<p>“It’s come out so well, you and the designers really managed to pull it off,” Chanyeol spoke again in his strange tone, as if part of him had doubted Jongin’s talent all along.</p>
<p>Baekhyun began chattering excitedly about their matching white suits at this point, and how the photos would look so beautiful next to the custom furniture but it went over Jongin’s head. His time from being upstairs on the breezy roof had caused his skin to grow chilly, even in the beautiful bright sunny weather, and all he wanted to do was slump into one of the chairs and nap for two hours. He didn’t dare touch anything and leave an imprint of his rather clammy hands. Cold skin, hot hands; he couldn’t win today.</p>
<p>He interrupted Chanyeol speaking about the caterers when a loud sneeze wracked through his body.</p>
<p>“Jongie, you’re sick, why didn’t you tell me?” Baekhyun implored as he the couple watched him fumble to blow his nose.</p>
<p>“M’not sick,” Jongin mumbled from behind the tissue, his voice nasally and eyes red and glassy.</p>
<p>He knew that they could see through him. Instead of a pen he’d been carrying a tissue in his hand, and if his demeanour wasn’t enough of a giveaway, his body was. Even his usual beautifully tanned skin was looking pale and lifeless in comparison to its usual glow and his dark hair was simply doing its own thing today.</p>
<p>“I refuse to be susceptible to catching your cold before me and Baek spend a month in Fiji for our honeymoon,” Chanyeol’s loud voice boomed across the empty space, and in a second, covered his face with his own clipboard, “Send him home, baby-yah!”</p>
<p>Baekhyun huffed as Chanyeol turned on his heel and marched to the door in which they’d came, meeting an impatient intern with a phone to their ear as he went. The little groom rolled his eyes dramatically before glancing up at Jongin. Neither of them needed to vocalise their thoughts – Chanyeol had always been a baby when it came to getting sick and could be a hell of a hypochondriac when he wanted to be.</p>
<p>Baekhyun pulled a couple of chairs out and sat on one, pulling Jongin to sit on the other. The wedding planner couldn’t help but sigh in relief, his legs humming in delight that they were no longer holding him up. Baekhyun patted his small hand on Jongin’s knee softly.</p>
<p>“You’ve been working so hard for me and Channie, you feeling poorly is all our fault,” Baekhyun blurted with a pouty bottom lip.</p>
<p>“The guy coughing and sneezing on the treadmill next to mine at the gym seems more likely,” Jongin sniffled again.</p>
<p>Baekhyun glanced over him unconvincingly and Jongin couldn’t help but recall just how quickly the short male had learnt to read him so easily. In this line of work, Jongin tended to become close with brides due to all of the one-on-one time he had to spend with them, comforting them and calming them down if need’s be, over a short space of time. Things felt different with Baekhyun. He was such a wonderfully likable human being anyway, but it was their link to the Oh brothers that kept them so close with each other.</p>
<p>They both filled a gap where the other couldn’t.</p>
<p>The poorly wedding planner gave another blow of his nose into a tissue and grimaced.</p>
<p>“A good night’s sleep and I’ll be perfectly fine,” Jongin spoke, trying to convince them both.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about coming to my last night ever of being a free spirit which will end up with me dancing on tables in some of those head boppers and drinking out of glittery penis straws,” Baekhyun said softly with a smile, “I do that every night out so you won’t be missing much. I’d rather you just get some rest so you can be well for the rehearsal dinner.”</p>
<p>“You <em>need</em> me! What if something goes wrong? I need to be there to sort it out, like, like the caterers could fall through or some of your guests might fall out so we’ll need to re-plan the <em>whole</em> seating chart and,”</p>
<p>“The sky might fall down so we all get squished and me and Channie will spend the rest of our married lives as two blobs!” Baekhyun blurted with a brilliant smile.</p>
<p>Jongin chuckled slightly and was glad of the support the groom gave him, even if it should be the other way around at this point.</p>
<p>“If we really, <em>really</em> need you, we’ll call you.”</p>
<p>“Okay, okay, if I really must then I’ll go home and get in bed,” Jongin grumbled even though it was his body’s only wish.</p>
<p>There was a content silence and Baekhyun glanced across all the tables, adjusting the position of a golden dessert spoon with that dreamy look in his eyes. Jongin nuzzled his knee against Baekhyun’s to catch the boy’s attention.</p>
<p>“If you’re feeling nervous, you’re really good at hiding it,” Jongin spoke quietly.</p>
<p>“There’s just been bigger things in my life to be nervous about,” Baekhyun recalled with a shrug, “I was nervous on our first date because I thought Chanyeol wouldn’t want to go out with me again. I was really nervous after our first, second and sixty-eighth big fights because I thought Chan might get fed up and want someone else. When he proposed to me I realised that there was never a reason for me to be nervous. I mean, I’m absolutely petrified of falling over on my face, or saying the wrong vow, or some crazy ex-boyfriend objecting at our wedding but I’m not nervous about marrying Channie. I don’t think I ever could be.”</p>
<p>Jongin thought back to the little flat he and Sehun shared. He could remember the smell of the fabric conditioner Sehun loved to use and how it would float around their home for days. Every time they would open their chest of drawers to rummage for clothes the smell of the linen would hit them all over again like a perfect spring breeze. Jongin remembered the small box, hidden away, tucked inside Sehun’s drawer beneath his casual clothes. His fingers had brushed against it and he’d half jolted in shock. He remembered how beautiful the sterling silver ring inside of it had looked. Then Sehun had called him from the other room so Jongin had covered it back carefully and played dumb, and at that time, wondered when the next time he’d see it would be.</p>
<p>“I completely understand you, Baek,” was all Jongin could say with a small smile on his face.</p>
<p>Baekhyun squeezed his knee again sweetly, a big smile on his face, thanking him for the little talk. He checked the time on his watch and pulled the wedding planner to his feet to usher Jongin out of the building. When Jongin arrived back at his home after the long drive and greeted his poodle with a big cuddle, he changed clothes and slumped onto his sofa with a blanket. Monggu followed and snuggled beside him, although the puppy was rather excitable that his owner had come home earlier than normal and wriggled excitedly, pawing at Jongin’s torso.</p>
<p>Jongin still managed to fall asleep, cuddled on his couch with a Korean drama playing in the background, and he couldn’t help but have dreams entirely of Oh Sehun and the happiness they had felt in their home.</p>
<p>✿ ❀</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>First of all, thank you for the continuous love and support!!! ❀ </p>
<p>This part was intentionally short and I'm sorry about that! I wrote this as one, long masterpost {I'm currently working on the ending} but decided to post it in parts to make concluding it easier and it's tricky making them all the same size! So I'm sorry this was short, but the next one will be longggggg...as the wedding commences!! ❀</p>
<p>Oh Sehun is coming... ❀</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Five ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chanyeol and Baekhyun's wedding day has arrived, and after two long years, Jongin finally meets his long lost ex. Enter.........Oh Sehun. ❀</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was only natural for Sehun to be Chanyeol’s best man beside the beautiful wedding arch.</p><p>Looking at Sehun, for Jongin, was like seeing a painting years after the first time. You remember the originality of the painting; the basic colours, brush strokes, outlines; he was so tall and broad, hair still pitch black and slicked handsomely from his face. But, the second time round, you see more. You see the flickers of paint, the characters in the foreground and their expressions, not just the colour of the flowers but how many there are and why they’re there; Sehun’s face hadn’t aged as such, he didn’t look any older, he’d simply matured.</p><p>He was in what Jongin could only assume was a custom-made suit. Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s matching white tuxedos had been custom-made, so it was only natural the best man and the other groomsmen’s would be. The suit itself was made of a silvery-grey satin with a tiny, unmistakable pattern running through it, a shimmering baroque whenever the September sunshine shone upon him.</p><p>His skin was still fair and pale, especially against the orange flower adorned into his lapel, like the rest of the wedding party. He had chattered quietly with Chanyeol at the altar, the guests talking amongst themselves in their seats, his lips still posy pink as they smiled. Sehun looked as proud as he was happy as he stood beside his brother, and when the violinists started playing to indicate Baekhyun’s arrival, the brother’s shook hands one last time. Jongin wondered who else had caught the ‘Good luck’ that fell from Sehun’s lips to his brother, as he stood across the roof hidden away at the back, an assistant beside him.</p><p>Everyone was naturally watching Baekhyun walk up the aisle with his Father, a bouquet of bright, exquisite and tropical flowers falling perfectly from his hands. His hair was soft and fluffy, face glowing and smile wider than ever. Chanyeol too was grinning, bobbing on the spot, as if he couldn’t stand the wait for Baekhyun to become his husband. The lady conducting the ceremony began as Baekhyun’s Father hugged his son to sit beside his wife. The grooms linked hands the second Baekhyun was relieved of the pretty bouquet.</p><p>These were the precious details Jongin would have captured if he hadn’t been watching Sehun, and Sehun alone.</p><p>Sehun stood proudly by Chanyeol and alongside the other groomsmen with a smile settled on his face. A strange thought lingered for Jongin as he watched Sehun watch the ceremony. Sehun was the one who had seen the best of Chanyeol and Baekhyun, just as Jongin had seen the beginning of the brother’s journey, and Baekhyun had seen the years Jongin hadn’t. Each of them could sit and recall a layer of time that another may not.</p><p>The ceremony was beautiful. Baekhyun’s vows were more like a long-winded account of his feelings compared to Chanyeol’s rehearsed-to-death poetry that had no doubt come from one of his brother’s books. Baekhyun had all but leapt up into Chanyeol’s arms when the kiss came and the taller held him there as they smiled and kissed and laughed. Jongin’s heart felt so much happiness for the couple but he knew that he was needed in the background, which was where he wanted to stay, rather than mingle with the Oh family.</p><p>Jongin had felt too poorly to attend the rehearsal dinner, and he genuinely felt guilty for that fact, regardless of the relief in the back of his mind. He would have liked being there to support the couple and even meet Baekhyun’s family, but he couldn’t help but doubt whether Sehun and his parents would particularly enjoy his presence there. He hoped that he would be able to remain under the radar for the most of the day to avoid them and any drama it may cause.</p><p>The last of his cold-come-flu could still be felt in his chest but today was the big day, everything that he and the couple had worked on for months, and he wasn’t going to miss it for the world. He’d stepped onto the O.C.S rooftop the moment the sun had crept over the clouds, working with the staff, organising tables and ringing both grooms to make sure they would arrive on time. Now, he had to usher the photographers to grab the first perfect photographs of the married couple and head downstairs to get the wave of waiters brandishing freshly-popped prosecco onto the rooftop.</p><p>And so he did. He was determined that Chanyeol and Baekhyun wouldn’t have to worry for a moment how their special day would go, and Jongin did what he did best, walkie-talkie in hand and commanding a background of staff to their duties. The hard work paid off, and it was only when Baekhyun went searching for him in the kitchens after the food was eaten and the music was turned up high, that he tugged Jongin into the wedding party. Baekhyun’s hair was a little ruffled now and his blazer jacket was hanging from one shoulder as he pulled him through the other guests to where Chanyeol was awaiting with a couple of beers.</p><p>Naturally, Chanyeol’s cheeks were flushed red and he was obviously tipsy from the intake of alcohol. His bowtie was currently missing and top buttons loose, sleeves folded up to his elbows, looking as if he’d just popped up to the party after a work meeting to see what all the fuss was about.</p><p>“There you are, Jongie!” Chanyeol cheered with a wide grin.</p><p>One of the beers was shoved into Jongin’s hands as the elder Oh brother drunkenly kissed Jongin’s cheek, stumbling ever so for Baekhyun to laugh. For the first time since their most recent meeting, there was no double-edge tone to his words; it was just pure joy.</p><p>“Where have you been hiding?!”</p><p>“This has all been so amazing! Everyone loves it!”</p><p>“You’ve got to dance!”</p><p>“Have fun with us now, Jongie!”</p><p>The new husbands were talking into both of his ears at the same time and Jongin laughed and shrugged them off only for an upbeat song to come on. Chanyeol shouted something loudly about Jongin being a dancer to Baekhyun, and soon enough, the three of them were dancing wildly among the other friends and family. Normally, Jongin wouldn’t let himself have too much fun while on the job, and would disappear to let the wedding party begin, yet felt wanted here.</p><p>His body was tired, his bones heavy and wanting rest from the long day he had endured while still trying to kick a cold, but he didn’t have the heart to leave yet. The more alcohol Chanyeol consumed, the more he became the Chanyeol that Jongin used to know back when the wedding planner supposed they were all just kids. His eyes couldn’t help but continuously flicker across the room and glimpse at relatives he met once or twice before, what felt like a lifetime ago now, and he knew that he couldn’t leave.</p><p>There was something he had to do first.</p><p>Baekhyun gave him another twirl under his arm, a slight feat considering the wedding planner was somewhat taller, so Jongin gestured that he wanted air. It wasn’t a whole lie. He stepped back for Baekhyun to continue dancing but the little groom tugged him close with a grin.</p><p>“Go get some cake and something to eat, okay?” Baekhyun half-shouted to Jongin as some of the other groomsmen came along to dance with the grooms.</p><p>Jongin chuckled and nodded, released from the husbands’ dance circle, and allowed himself a sip of beer whereas he normally wouldn’t. He did as Baekhyun suggested and made his way to the food table where other guests congregated to pick at the food and chat happily. With a golden plate full of food in one hand and the beer in the other, Jongin decided to sneak away to the rooftop for fresh air, wanting nothing more to sit in a quiet corner and peel his own blazer jacket from his shoulders.</p><p>“The whole day has been simply amazing, everywhere you look, it’s like half of Chan and half of Baek mingled into a beautiful ceremony,” a rather loud voice echoed from the roof.</p><p>“It’s honestly the best wedding I’ve ever been to, it almost surpasses ours!”</p><p>There was light hearted laughter.</p><p>“An old friend of ours planned it all. I didn’t know much about the process but he obviously went above and beyond to make it personal to them, and give them everything they wanted, and it came out as perfect as we all expected.”</p><p>Jongin reached the roof and carefully stepped out with a strange feeling floating around his stomach. The moment that had dominated his mind and rolled around it like an unruly stormy sea was finally in front of him without warning; Sehun stood on the rooftop, sunglasses over his face and a drink in his hand. He was talking with a couple his own age and like his brother, his bowtie had disappeared and so had the top buttons of his shirt, but the beautiful grey suit jacket still hung from his shoulders.</p><p>Under the sinking September sun and red sky he looked stunning, so stunning Jongin couldn’t bring himself to breathe, until Sehun’s eyes crossed the space and met his. Sehun too paused, not even twitching a finger, and Jongin wondered if it was the first time his ex-boyfriend had seen him today. The couple spoke again casually and then left Sehun to talk to someone else, leaving Sehun stood alone, a gentle breeze freeing his hair from its gel-restraint.</p><p>Sehun had loved the wedding.</p><p>The ex-lovers stared at each other in silence. A couple of drunken groomsmen bundled up the stairway and Jongin had to step onto the roof – and toward Sehun – to let them pass. Jongin’s step set off something within Sehun’s body because he too paced toward him, and then with a business-like shrug of his shoulders, gestured to a couple of chairs. Jongin sat down across from Sehun before his brain could convince him not to. Then the sitting and staring at each other in silence commenced again.</p><p>Fuck, Jongin could still read him like a book.</p><p>The way Sehun’s nails tapped together and his fingers entwined was a big enough tell for anyone to guess that he was nervous, but Jongin could see past that, to the twitch of his muscle behind his clenched jaw. Only Jongin could see the underlining dread that Sehun had assumedly felt all day. He wondered if Sehun had felt this way for the same amount of time that he himself had. The wedding planner raised his beer to his lips to take a wary sip, aware that he was now under the Oh Sehun microscope.</p><p>The thought was enough to make any hunger he had pass and he placed the plate of food onto an empty chair beside him.</p><p> A short huff of air left Sehun’s lips and he removed his sunglasses from his face, as if wearing them in front of Jongin were some kind of rude gesture, and gestured to the plate.</p><p>“No, please, go ahead and eat,” Sehun spoke quietly.</p><p>Jongin came face to face with the eyes that haunted his heart and in that moment he didn’t care for the plate of food, the chairs they were sat in, or even whereabouts on earth they were. He saw Sehun’s eyes up close for the first time in years and it made his heart stop. They were still so dark and so intense; the happiness of the day couldn’t hide the little lines of concentration around them. It also couldn’t hide the immense sadness hidden deep inside of them either.</p><p>Jongin saw the same expression in every mirror he peered into.</p><p>Sehun had always been brief and sparse with words and it appeared that hadn’t changed an inch. Jongin couldn’t help but want to scream and shake the lingering words out from his ex-lover’s lips. He could see everything Sehun wanted to say just in the way his lips twitched or his brow furrowed in thought, but he needed to hear it.</p><p>“Today has been wonderful for Chan and Baek,” was all Sehun quietly settled upon, and in Jongin’s silence, he continued, “Everything was perfect. People have been telling me about it all day. You obviously excel in what you do, thank you.”</p><p>“Please don’t thank me, Sehun,” Jongin finally breathed out and the sound of his voice had Sehun’s face contorting, “Scream at me, shout at me, do anything! But please don’t thank me, I don’t deserve that from you!”</p><p>“I’m not going to dramatise my brother’s wedding and stand here screaming at an ex, Jongin,” Sehun reencountered with a strange tone.  </p><p>“I want you to scream at me! I want you to treat me how I <em>should </em>be treated from you, I don’t deserve pleasantries, be angry with me!” Jongin all but pleaded miserably.</p><p>“Jongin, I said I’m not going to do that,” Sehun denied harshly.</p><p>“I want you to do that! I need to hear you be angry! You never tried to find me and give me hell for what I did to you when you should have, I’m giving you a chance to do that, to have a go at me for breaking your heart,” <em>the H word sprung tears to Jongin’s eyes,</em> “Why didn’t you come after me?”</p><p>“I didn’t go after you because I trusted you to know what’s best for me.”</p><p>Jongin’s breath hitched and there was a moment of silence as he sunk his teeth into his bottom lip, willing himself not to unravel with emotions.</p><p>“You’re not the only one who can read someone like a book, Jongin. You spent so long claiming that you can decipher every inch of me without realising I can read you just as well, even now,” Sehun breathed and shook his head, “You were always the one I’d trust with my life. At the time I didn’t see it coming, I was consumed with work, and when you left like that I was so angry and hurt and betrayed out of my fucking wits but I trusted you to know what’s best for me. That’s why I’m not going to sit here and spout like an angry fountain, because I trusted in your decision for our relationship.”   </p><p>Of all the one-word, brief sentence answers that Sehun used to give him toward the end of their relationship to hear all of that, to Jongin, felt like a ghost had shoved him off his chair. He felt breathless and dabbed at his face with a napkin to show for it. Sehun sighed once again and rubbed at his forehead.</p><p>“I only wanted to ask you how you were.”</p><p>Jongin heard himself laugh but it didn’t reach the rest of his face. He went to look at Sehun but stopped when he realised they were now the only ones on the roof and the doors closed, no doubt a scheme of Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s invention. His eyes rolled slowly to Sehun.  </p><p>“From the minute Baekhyun walked into my office, to sitting here now, I can honestly say this has been the weirdest few months of my life,” Jongin admitted with a weak smile.</p><p>“Imagine how I felt when Chanyeol breezily told me you were planning their wedding minutes before a three hour, very serious, board meeting,” Sehun countered again with a cock of his head.</p><p>This time they both laughed half-heartedly.</p><p>“What you’ve built up here is incredible. From what I’ve seen of it, to reading in magazines and those business news stories; I was always rooting for you, both of you, even if you didn’t want me to,” Jongin admitted.</p><p>“Sometimes I used to sit and think it was a curse. You could have came and found me at any given minute and yet you disappeared like a feather in the wind,” Sehun scoffed, “I wanted to ring your parents and ask if you’d gone back to Seoul but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”</p><p>Jongin could understand that. He easily imagined Sehun sitting at his desk, staring at the phone, but his stomach churned weirdly and he realised just how surreal all of this was. He took another sip of beer and nodded a little.</p><p>“I nearly did but I knew it wouldn’t have been the right choice,” he admitted with a soft shrug, “I left you once, doing it twice would have killed me off.”</p><p>His eyes met Sehun’s and he saw the soft sincerity behind them. When Sehun said that he understood Jongin’s actions, he genuinely meant it, and even if deep down he still wanted to feel Sehun’s anger, he was glad of this outcome too. He hadn’t seen Sehun look so soft in such a long time that his heart twisted and he had to look away.</p><p>“I really am thankful for today, you know. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Chan and Baekhyun so happy. Thank you for doing this for them,” Sehun’s voice was as soft and quiet as his appearance.</p><p>“I did it for you,” Jongin revealed before his mind could stop him, “For some reason I thought that if I gave them the most beautiful day I could, then maybe it would make it up to you for what I did, through Chanyeol and Baek. That sounds silly out loud, though.”</p><p>“It’s not silly, it’s you. You always gave people all you could until there was no more, that’s why you’re obviously so wonderful at this. Chan said you were a wedding planner in the city and Baekhyun insisted that you were one of the best. He wasn’t elaborating,” Sehun confessed.</p><p>“I left the florists,” Jongin spoke cautiously, “But you didn’t.”</p><p>He thought of the vase of white dahlias on Sehun’s desk as he gazed at the male, hunched over a little now, elbows propped on his knees. The way Sehun’s eyes met his in their dark, truthful glory agreed more than any words he could have used.</p><p>“To this day, the lady you worked with gives me pitiful looks. For a while I didn’t buy any flowers, but then I couldn’t stand them not being around,” he explained with sadness.</p><p>There was another silence. They both seemed to understand that whoever was speaking needed to process what they revealed, just as the other had to understand what they were hearing. Even now, two years on, Sehun and Jongin were on the same mental note they’d always been.</p><p>“Chanyeol said you were invited to the rehearsal dinner,” <em>was Sehun’s way of saying, ‘I wanted to see you at the rehearsal dinner.’</em></p><p>“I didn’t even know if I’d see you today.” <em>‘I wanted to speak to you.’ </em></p><p>“Especially since Baekhyun said you were well and happy.” <em>‘I needed to see you.’</em></p><p>“I’ve been recovering from a cold and it made me miss the rehearsal,” Jongin answered, and as if on cue, sneezed and fished a tissue from his pocket.</p><p>The wedding planner mumbled an apology for blowing his nose as he bundled the used tissue into his pocket, to drop into a bin later. He was unaware Sehun’s lips were stretched into a smile as he glanced across Jongin’s face, until he turned and met his eyes.</p><p>“You look beautiful.”</p><p>
  <em>That one was pretty self-explanatory. </em>
</p><p>“You look beautiful too.”</p><p>Jongin hadn’t hesitated to return the statement. He’d been thinking about it all day, from the minute Sehun stepped out the roof doors with his parents, chattering and waiting on Chanyeol to join them. Sehun let out a breath as he glanced across the empty roof and the aftermath of the ceremony, before he stood, and offered a hand to Jongin. The wedding planner stared at the open palm as if he’d never seen one in his life.</p><p>“I think it’s only right that we should dance,” Sehun paused and a heartbreakingly familiar smile hovered over his lips, “The groom’s will pass out drunkenly at any minute and I’m on babysitting duty.”</p><p>If it was possible to pause time, Jongin would have stayed still in his chair and thought of every reason why they shouldn’t dance, why Sehun shouldn’t take his hand and why their bodies shouldn’t be this close. Naturally, of all of Jongin’s talents, he couldn’t pause time, and he all but leapt up to take his ex-lover’s hand.</p><p>It felt so strangely familiar when Sehun’s thumb automatically grazed over his knuckles, an automatic reaction.</p><p>The sun was setting and splurging deep oranges rays across the sky. A few large seagulls flew overhead, squawking loudly, but once they disappeared they took all the Chicago noise with it. The men couldn’t hear the busied buses on the streets below anymore, and when Sehun hesitantly pulled Jongin close with trembling hands, the latter felt as if his head submerged underwater and all he could hear was a dull, numb noise.</p><p>They were stood so close. Jongin’s college degree in Contemporary Dance suddenly meant nothing; every bone in his body stiffened as his muscles turned to jelly. Sehun was staring at him so intensely but Jongin could see the same fear in his eyes reflected in his own. Everything felt as right as it felt wrong, and it was obvious the feeling was mutual, regardless of the gentle sway the two had began. Jongin’s hand felt weak on Sehun’s shoulder and the younger’s palm was feather-light on the small of the wedding planner’s back. If there had been music playing, it would have gone unheard, no doubt.</p><p>There was one last thing for Jongin to say but he couldn’t speak it with Sehun staring at him the way he was. He squeezed his eyes shut and ultimately leaned forward, tucking his chin on Sehun’s shoulder, to look out at the city.</p><p>“I saw the dahlias on your desk. The last two years I’ve spent every moment thinking that you’d want to get rid of any trace of me in your life, to forget me, but then I saw the dahlias on your desk,” Jongin’s voice trembled, “I don’t understand why you don’t want to forget me.”</p><p>“You can’t forget a love like ours, baby. We were timeless.”</p><p>It was all Sehun needed to say for Jongin to understand, because he agreed wholeheartedly, everyone had been telling him the same thing. His heart wouldn’t be pounding as hard as it was if he had wanted to simply forget Sehun.</p><p>✿ ❀</p><p>Chanyeol and Baekhyun were so drunk from an entire day of having celebratory drinks thrusted at them that all they wanted was to go back to their own home at the end of the night. Many of the other groomsmen were in the same state and had hailed cabs back to their own hotels or homes, and so it was left to Sehun to wrangle the grooms both into the back of his pitch black Audi R8. It was how Sehun had expected to end his night. Jongin pitied the younger Oh brother and felt it was only right to help. He’d dealt with drunken Baekhyun a few times now and was becoming a pro at handling him.</p><p>Under his breath, Sehun threatened his brother not to be sick in his car for the entire journey, something Jongin had hoped too as he fanned Baekhyun’s paling face from the front seat. There’d been no time to have a mental crisis about the fact he was sitting beside Sehun in a fancy car as they drove through the city. They managed to get the newlyweds inside, Sehun grunting as he practically piggy-backed his brother along the corridors, who was singing their love song loudly. Baekhyun could only giggle and blow heavy-limbed kisses in the direction of his husband, even though it was obvious to Jongin that the male could barely see, his eyelids weighing heavy.</p><p>The grooms seemed settled enough to throw themselves at the large, white sofa that was almost as big as the room. Sehun grumbled and tried to get them into bed but Baekhyun let out an immediate snore the minute his head hit a couch cushion and Jongin knew it was no use. Chanyeol spoke once, his words slurred, pulling a golden hotel key from his pocket. The drunk male attempted to launch them across the room to Sehun but they landed pitifully under the glass coffee table.</p><p>“Go use our honeymoon suite.”</p><p>Then he too rolled onto his stomach and blacked out, his mouth open and hand hanging off the edge of the sofa. Jongin knew it was no use to even attempt removing their beautiful white tuxedos from their bodies and laughed a little, deciding to take photos of them as Sehun grabbed for the keys.</p><p>The ex-lovers shared a look when Sehun jingled the hotel key in his hand, and an hour later, they were downtown in the honeymoon suite. They didn’t speak on the car ride over, and Sehun spoke once to greet a lobby boy, before they explored the grand room. Of course it was a beautiful four-poster bed affair, in the centre of the room, with a small lounge area against large windows that offered a beautiful view of the Chicago nightline.</p><p>There was a marbled table bestowed in every kind of romantic food Jongin could think of. A fresh chill bucket with champagne and two glass flutes beside it was the main attraction beside a golden card of congratulations on behalf of the hotel, adorned with Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s names. There were large buffet plates with rows of glazed chocolates and fresh strawberries and fruits, perfectly cut slices of layered cake. There were traditional newlywed slippers and robes folded perfectly on the bed, and of course, deep red rose petals scattered across every inch of the luxurious white bedding.  </p><p>Sehun turned from where he had inspected the champagne label and realised Jongin was still stood near the door, feet plastered to the floor, shoulders tense and hands trembling.</p><p>“If this was a bad idea, I can rent another room, or drive you home,”</p><p>“No, no,” Jongin heard himself say, as if Sehun’s voice had been the switch he needed to restart his body, “It’s okay. I just need a hot shower.”</p><p>Sehun nodded softly and offered a small smile. His hand lingered on the refreshment table and grazed the polished to perfection surface, a hesitation shadowing his fingertips.</p><p>“Yeah, of course. You go shower, I’ll make us some drinks and we can just…sit and talk,” the male spoke quietly.</p><p>It was Jongin’s turn to nod and push his lips into a smile. He removed his shoes and placed them neatly onto the mahogany rack, followed by hanging his jacket into the wardrobe. He disappeared into the glamorous ensuite with a towel and one of the white robes and locked the door behind him nervously. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing and he didn’t want to think about it, and so forced himself not to, as he turned on the hot water and slipped under it. The lingering traces of his illness eased as he breathed in the steam and ran some fancy soap over his skin.</p><p>When he finally emerged from the bathroom in the cosy robe, body exhausted yet mind running at a million miles per hour, Sehun was lounged comfortably in a leather chair beside the window. His long legs in the black dress pants were stretched out in front of him, even though his brow was furrowed in concentration of his phone.</p><p>Turns out that hadn’t changed. Jongin quietly plucked at the selection of fresh fruit on the table as he expected a long wait for Sehun’s attention, a routine that felt so normal to align with, even after all this time. He slipped a rather large strawberry into his mouth as Sehun glanced up and realised he’d left the bathroom.</p><p>“Sorry,” he immediately apologised, and Jongin felt shell-shocked.</p><p>The Oh brother hadn’t prioritised him over technology or work in a long time. His stomach churned strangely as he reached for another strawberry and joined Sehun in the other seat by the window. The male pushed a bottle of chilled water toward Jongin before pushing his phone back into his pocket and out of the way.</p><p>“You said you’d had a cold, I thought you might appreciate a soft drink instead of alcohol,” Sehun explained, his eyes looking everywhere but Jongin’s direction.</p><p>“Thank you, I would,” Jongin replied simply as he reached for it.</p><p>The crinkling of the plastic added to the weird atmosphere of Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s honeymoon suite. Jongin had an internal monologue to rival Bella Swan when Sehun let out a heavy breath.</p><p>“I know that this is strange,” Sehun paused and thought, staring out the window, “Unexpected more than anything, and I’m probably going to make it even more so, but I kinda want to show you something.”</p><p>Jongin’s spine stiffened in readiness of the worst, a photograph of a secret family that Sehun had? An old gas bill that Jongin hadn’t paid and Sehun wanted the money for? Oh God, please not one of his old dorky magic tricks that he used to pull out on special occasions.</p><p>Instead, Sehun pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and placed it onto the small coffee table between them. The male stared at it with his dark eyes, fingertips clamping it to the table, as if debating whether or not producing it was a good idea. A bubbling anxiety began to rumble in Jongin’s stomach. He wasn’t sure if the droplet falling down his face was a nervous bead of sweat or simply his wet hair.</p><p>“I don’t know why I brought it with me today. I didn’t particularly want too, but for some reason, I just couldn’t leave home without it,” Sehun spoke simply – and mysteriously, much to Jongin’s further demise.</p><p>Eventually, after a laborious and painful minute’s wait, Sehun slid the paper across the table toward Jongin. The wedding planner reached for it tenderly, glancing once to his ex who was finally meeting his eye in anticipation. He felt as ill as Baekhyun and Chanyeol would be the following morning as he opened it with shaking hands, and at the tiny handwritten scrawl, a sad noise fell from his mouth.</p><p>“I didn’t even intend to give it to you,” Sehun paused, “When you didn’t come to the rehearsal dinner I was sure I wouldn’t see you today.”</p><p>Many questions hovered on his lips but his heart felt too heavy to produce anything but sadness around his body. His limbs felt weighed down and his eyes glassed over. He was barely a few sentences in before he practically slapped the paper shut and put it on the table with a shaky breath. Sehun had kept the letter Jongin had written when he left, only to bring it to his brother’s wedding to return it to its writer.</p><p>“I wouldn’t have been able to go through with it face to face,” Jongin let out with a heavy breath, “I hate that I couldn’t do that for you, Sehun.”</p><p>Sehun’s eyes bore into the table.</p><p>“I was so focused on the company. Me and Chanyeol had so much to do, it was hard work, constant hard work that unintentionally became my only priority. In complete honesty,” Sehun paused, pushing a hand through his hair, “I lost sight of us and it took you leaving for me to see that. If you had said it to me face to face, in the end I would have let you go.”</p><p>Hearing that was incredibly bittersweet for Jongin. It was hard to accept a layer of understanding that Sehun had for actions Jongin had felt <em>he</em> needed to be chastised for. He nodded slowly.</p><p>“I will always standby my decision; I needed to leave so that you could become who you are today. Seeing the man you became, <em>have become</em>, is so wonderful to me,” Jongin spoke from the heart.</p><p>“For so long, I’ve felt so guilty knowing you made such a sacrifice for me and I’ve given you nothing in return?” Sehun’s voice was quiet.</p><p>Jongin couldn’t help but lean forward in confusion. He’d carried the guilt on his shoulders for his actions, and yet here was Sehun, confessing his own guilt?</p><p>“Guilty?” Jongin couldn’t help but blurt out.</p><p>“Of course,” Sehun quipped with anguish settling into his features, “I pushed you away for so long, neglected our relationship, we were barely speaking because I was so busy and then you left so that I could become this ‘great man’? Of course I feel guilty for that, Jongie.”</p><p>The nickname hit harder falling from Sehun’s lips more than Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s combined.</p><p>“I’m angry you left without a word even though with time I’ve come to understand and accept that, I’m angry and upset that we let our relationship get to that point, that <em>I</em> let us dwindle out so fast, but I understand why. When I saw how happy and wonderful you looked on the roof today, I was thankful for it happening, so that this could happen,” Sehun finished and stared into Jongin’s eyes.</p><p>In all of his years of knowing Sehun, the one thing Jongin felt he’d overlooked was just how rational the male could be. Time to grow and mature had indeed changed Sehun and turned him into the exceptional man that Jongin had always believed he could be.</p><p>“Don’t place all of the blame on yourself, Sehun-ah, I was the one in the wrong, I was the one who left!” Jongin couldn’t help but argue.</p><p>“I’m at a point in my life where I don’t feel a need to cast a blame or judgement on either of us, but simply accept my role in the breakdown of our relationship and understand what happened. Especially after talking about this with you. Do you feel the same?”</p><p>“Yes,” Jongin heard himself say after a long moment’s thought, “I think I do. I’ve been carrying so much shit on my shoulders and feeling as if I deserved to do so, but, now I feel the same way as you. I’m ready to end this mental torture for the both of us.”</p><p>Months of convincing himself that Sehun and his whole damn corporation would treat Jongin with all guns blazing fell like sand through his hands and all the wedding planner was left with was an overwhelming feeling of freshness. A fresh start, fresh thoughts, a fresh state of mind, and just by the way Sehun’s lips curved he could tell that he felt the same way. There was a silence as they both rather obviously read each other, which caused some gentle laughter in the honeymoon suite. They both blurted out apologies in unison, chuckled more, then when Sehun thanked Jongin for some reason, the latter heard himself say it back.</p><p>Jongin wasn’t sure how they ended up naked and tangled in the luxurious bed sheets, but it happened.</p><p>Sehun’s body was on an elite, god-like tier, his stomach taught and marbled with ab after ab as Jongin’s fingers trailed down the front of it to reach his dick and take it firmly in his hand. The minute Jongin’s palm was wrapped around his length, Sehun let out a rumbling groan and dipped down in an instant to bury his face in his neck, sucking at every soft and sensitive spot there. His teeth grazed along his collarbone and Jongin’s heart rate began to soar. The younger only sucked harder at his skin the louder Jongin’s needy whines would become.</p><p>It felt like everything all at once; the now normalised feeling of nostalgia with a strange newness that came with Sehun’s close proximity.</p><p>Each time Sehun would trickle his fingertips teasingly down the inside of Jongin’s thigh it would feel like a god-damn eternity, but then the younger would grab his ass with severity and haul the male to straddle him, pushing in his length before Jongin could even catch his breath. Jongin knew that if he thought about it too much he wouldn’t be able to keep up, so he gave in, followed the need of his body and the want of Sehun’s. He’d never felt better when Sehun’s weight was pressing him down into the mattress, pinning his arms above his head, being fucked almost mercilessly like he used to love.</p><p>Slow, fast, soft, hard, gentle, deep, deeper. It was everything he had expected of Oh Sehun and more.</p><p>Jongin’s nails raked down Sehun’s back helplessly. All he could do was try to hold off the oncoming orgasm so that this could last longer, but the smell of Sehun’s sweat was dizzying against his hot, hot skin. His head bobbed helplessly until Sehun’s hand combed through the back of his hair to bring their foreheads together with a dizzying smirk; noses grazing, lips kissing, biting and breathing out. His other hand was placed firmly on Jongin’s butt cheek to squeeze and pull at it, bracing his deep, upward thrusts as they straddled each other.</p><p>“How do you always look so beautiful like this?”</p><p>Sehun’s words came low and deep as his dark eyes bore into Jongin’s. The elder hadn’t realised a tiny tear trailed down his cheek until Sehun caught it with the tip of his nose, pausing his thrusts to simply hold Jongin’s face and kiss every part of it soft and slow. The way he was sat on Sehun’s thick, twitching dick while being kissed so tender made the male’s heart shudder in his chest.</p><p>“I missed you so much,” Jongin squeaked as he squeezed his arms around Sehun’s neck and buried his face in the crook.</p><p>“I missed you too, baby, fuck, Jongie.”</p><p>The younger’s kisses continued down his bare neck and shoulders, between his words and gasps for air, before picking up pace once more.</p><p>The first time they had been like this, bodies flush together with love rather than lust, was when Jongin had come back from a weekend camping trip with his old college friends. Jongin had missed his boyfriend so much it made him realise how badly he loved and needed him, and that had barely been two days. Now it was two years, and Jongin’s body was going through it.</p><p>Their torsos were pushed so close together that the rhythm of Sehun’s thrusts fell out of perfect sync. The way they still hit so deep each time caused Jongin’s body, as well as his own dick rubbing relentless against the pit of Sehun’s tummy and his own, to physically quake. He came with a loud cry and his muscles stilled instantly, allowing Sehun to grip onto his hips and thrust upward roughly until the younger came too, a string of curses falling from his chapped lips.</p><p>“My dahlia,” Sehun mumbled softly as he slowly kissed at Jongin’s neck.</p><p>Jongin crumbled and held onto his ex-lover’s face to kiss his lips with the last slip of energy that he had. He wanted to taste the sweat of Sehun’s skin for the rest of his life. The younger’s hands trailed softly over Jongin’s back, and hips, and bum, caressing and caring for every inch.</p><p>“No more tears, okay?” Sehun whispered when he pulled back to look across Jongin’s face.</p><p>The wedding planner didn’t even know that he had been crying, whether it was the mind-blowing orgasm or the person who had caused it. Either way he smiled, nodded ever so, and allowed Sehun’s thumb to wipe them away delicately. Jongin kissed Sehun again, lingeringly, because in that moment he could.</p><p>“Lay down, baby, I need to dispose of this,” Sehun chuckled gravelly.</p><p>Jongin nodded and chuckled a little, his own voice and throat feeling hoarse, and allowed the younger to tenderly peel his body from Sehun’s. The latter made sure Jongin’s head landed on the pillow and followed it up with a kiss to the cheek before he stumbled up and into the bathroom. All Jongin could smell was Sehun. In the bathroom, the toilet flushed and faucets ran but the noises meant nothing to Jongin, who still felt as if he were floating on a cloud that only he and Sehun could metaphysically reach.</p><p>He didn’t even realise the male had climbed into bed next to him until his body was pulled into Sehun’s chest and the smell of him returned. Jongin all but nestled into him, clinging to him like a baby bird, grazing his nose against Sehun’s jaw like he had done those years before. He couldn’t even trace back along their relationship timeline to know when they’d even held each other like this.</p><p>“I never want to not be your dahlia ever again,” Jongin confessed with a whisper.</p><p>The younger’s thumb travelled in the dim light of the room to stroke along Jongin’s jaw, and even though his own eyes were closed, he could sense the passionate way Sehun looked at him.</p><p>“You never stopped being so,” Sehun returned with his own whispered confession.</p><p>Their lips traced together again, slow and soft and hazy from the events, until Jongin fell into one of the deepest sleeps of his life.</p><p>✿ ❀</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Six ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The newlyweds are off on their honeymoon. Jongin gets a call from a certain ex...and a date follows. ❀</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>✿ ❀ </p>
<p>“I feel a little lost,” Jongin said, stabbing a straw through his iced coffee with a huff as Baekhyun hummed, “It’s a Monday and I’m not angrily ringing an exotic florist about a large order of birds of paradise flowers. I miss planning your wedding.”</p>
<p>“Well, we can always renew our vows before thanksgiving, oh! And I’m like totally pregnant after a long, post-wedding weekend of pure sex so we can plan a baby shower too,” Baekhyun joked with a crafty smile.</p>
<p>Jongin laughed until he realised just who Baekhyun was having sex with and audibly grimaced. The last thing he wanted was the images of Chanyeol and Baekhyun having sex while he ate. His lunch mate revelled in his reaction as he picked apart a salad with a plastic fork. The wedding planner took a long sip as the friends glanced at each other and Baekhyun’s face softened.  </p>
<p>“I miss us planning my wedding too.”</p>
<p>The minute Jongin had arrived at the nearby café for his lunch break Baekhyun had been sat waiting for him on a cute table outside. The majority of Chicago longed to be in the September sunshine before the autumn would sweep it away and bring the winter winds with it. Baekhyun had been sat with a gleaming smile, a loose, baby blue sweater falling from his frame and exposing his left shoulder, and the faded marks left behind from Chanyeol. Jongin was trying desperately to avoid looking at them.</p>
<p>Jongin had other clients, yes, and even had a bunch of new calls from contacts made at Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s wedding but he couldn’t bring himself to get in touch just yet. The newlyweds were getting ready to pack up and head to some romantic honeymoon island in the next few days, and Jongin felt he too needed a week off to drink himself silly under some serious sunshine.</p>
<p>It wasn’t just the wedding day that had left Jongin somewhat exhausted either, and he too, had the crushed violet bruises to prove it.</p>
<p>“Will everyone else’s weddings seem so boring to plan now?” Baekhyun giggled ruefully.</p>
<p>“Their budgets will be,” Jongin confessed with a wry smile.</p>
<p>It was true, it wasn’t everyday he got to spend as much money as Chanyeol had allowed him too, and that felt like half the fun. Jongin was shoving a rather large piece of sushi into his mouth when Baekhyun gave a dramatic sigh and leaned across the table, plastic fork pointed accusingly, limp piece of kale hanging from it.</p>
<p>“I didn’t ditch a Channie lunch meeting-slash-blowjob just so we could sit here and talk tamely,” Baekhyun announced as Jongin visibly grimaced once more, “And stop acting like a nun. We both had sex with an Oh brother this week.”</p>
<p>“How are you still able to talk without lockjaw?” Jongin rebutted first of all.</p>
<p>“What can I say, I’m talented,” Baekhyun shrugged, then grinned, “Tell me every gory detail that went down in the honeymoon suite.”</p>
<p>The wedding planner hadn’t had much of a choice in briefly confiding what had happened with Sehun, because the next morning, he’d had a string of texts from the newlywed quizzing him on it. As hungover as Baekhyun had felt, he was well enough to want to know what had happened.</p>
<p>Waking up beside Sehun had been rather domestic and outrageously tame. A couple of maids had dropped off a complimentary breakfast that they both couldn’t say no to, especially after the rigorous exercise the night before, and they’d eaten in contented quiet. Sehun had showered and then they both headed for his car in their crumpled wedding suits. The Oh brother had insisted on driving him all the way home, and even though Jongin put up the polite ‘oh, you don’t have to’, he was glad he had. Fuck sitting around waiting for a taxi or train stinking of booze, cake and sweat.</p>
<p>When Sehun pulled up outside of Jongin’s building he complimented the appearance of it by nodding once approvingly, in his quiet way. They sat for a while without saying a word, the pair of them watching the digits on Sehun’s dashboard tick slowly from 12:14 to 12:22.</p>
<p>“Considering everything, this might sound funny,” Sehun then spoke carefully as his hands fidgeted on the wheel, “But could I have your number?”</p>
<p>Sehun was right, it did sound funny, and Jongin had laughed softly at the request. Deep down there was nothing he’d want more than to open up a new path of contact between them, but the irony was, his number had never changed, and Sehun had had it stored on his phone the whole time.</p>
<p>Under ‘Dahlia’.</p>
<p>They’d texted a little here and there, but with Chanyeol preparing to head off on his honeymoon for two weeks, the Oh brothers were swamped with work to prepare.</p>
<p>Jongin sighed but a smile lingered on his lips under Baekhyun’s expectant gaze.</p>
<p>“It was the strangest night, but it wasn’t a bad strange,” Jongin confessed, “He’s still Oh Sehun but this is like a new, mature, grown side of him. Seeing him sat talking about our relationship like this confident man was…kind of exciting. From the moment I stepped out onto the roof and saw him to when I stepped out of his car the next morning, was like old and new meshing together.”</p>
<p>Baekhyun nodded as he took in Jongin’s words, chewing a little loudly on some chicken, sunshine bouncing off his hair. The wedding planner too ate another piece of sushi in contemplation of where to conversationally head next.</p>
<p>“The whole night was very, it could go this way or that. I know that sounds stupid, but I didn’t expect that we were going to have sex, while also expecting for us to end up having sex. I feel so much better though,” Jongin blurted as he glanced to Baekhyun, “This whole time Sehun felt as guilty for neglecting our relationship as I did.”</p>
<p>“Given what I’ve come to know of him, that really doesn’t surprise me, Jongie,” Baekhyun replied with a nod, “But please tell me about the sex details or I really will up and leave.”</p>
<p>Jongin rolled his eyes playfully but smirked. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure that the college students on the next table were busy with their own conversation, before turning back to Baekhyun. He unbuttoned enough buttons of his lilac dress shirt to allow Baekhyun a good glimpse at the scattering of marks Sehun had left behind. Baekhyun’s face naturally dropped widely with excitement and scandal.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you! Sitting there grimacing at everything I say and then pulling those out like the proud ass hoe you should be!” Baekhyun giggled excitedly and poked at one.</p>
<p>He swatted Baekhyun away immediately and refastened his shirt with pink cheeks.</p>
<p>“Like I said, it was this constant fusion of old and new. The way he touched me took me back to when we were together, but there was this whole layer of new excitement and mystery that literally made me <em>quake</em>,” Baekhyun bit onto his bottom lip like a giddy school girl, “It was like an unknown territory for both of us.”</p>
<p>“Oh my god!” Baekhyun exclaimed with a hand on his chest, “You describe sex so nicely! Chanyeol always moans at me because I will just shout ‘bone me hard’ from the next room.”</p>
<p>A particular detail sprang back to Jongin’s mind and flushed his cheeks pink even more so. He sipped on his iced coffee only to play with the straw under Baekhyun’s expectant gaze.</p>
<p>“I kind of, erm, cried.”</p>
<p>For the first time in their friendship, Baekhyun went silent. The male’s face changed from shock to curiosity, his bottom lip wobbling once, twice, before leaning across the table in interest. The salad went abandoned and Jongin wished he hadn’t opened his mouth, as much as his gut had wanted to confess to someone.</p>
<p>“You cried…during?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Jongin stumbled, “I didn’t even know I was until he wiped the tears from my cheeks. I’m still not sure why I cried either. It just…happened all so quick.”</p>
<p>“I know exactly why you cried, Kim Jongie of Seoul-come-Chicago,” Baekhyun replied with the impish grin that often worried Jongin, “You’re a huge softie.”</p>
<p>Baekhyun leaned across and squished Jongin’s cheeks between his palms with a light-hearted laugh until the wedding planner managed to push him back with a pout. Baekhyun’s sweet and caring smile was infectious though, so Jongin pushed his chin into his palm to hide it, picking at the last piece of sushi in front of him.</p>
<p>“You were just overwhelmed and you’d had the longest day after the longest few months, hell, I think I would have bawled the whole way through. Stop being a Capricorn and admit you have feelings, Jongie,” Baekhyun spoke with a wide smile and finished his statement with a boop of Jongin’s nose.</p>
<p>“You two definitely need to see each other again, for dinner at least, in a public place where you aren’t tempted to have luxurious honeymoon suite sex again,” Baekhyun then suggested.</p>
<p>He reached over to stuff Jongin’s sushi in his mouth and the wedding planner didn’t complain. In fact he nodded because he felt the same way. There was just a tiny voice in his soul that whispered relentlessly about chasing after Sehun only for the male to turn him down. Jongin wondered if there would ever be a day he could simply think of Oh Sehun without a mental-emotional crisis to follow.</p>
<p>“And with me and Channie off to explore some secret island only a select amount of millionaires know about, there’ll be plenty of time for you to both reconvene. I’m going to confiscate Chan’s work phone and God knows Sehun will be hella bored without his brother panic calling him about a printer crisis.”</p>
<p>Jongin laughed but the words sunk in deep because he realised Baekhyun was right. For two long weeks he could somehow have Oh Sehun all to himself…if only one of them could find the bravery to pick up the phone first.</p>
<p>✿ ❀</p>
<p>The office phone atop of Jongin’s desk lit green as an unrecognised number was displayed. The wedding planner had replaced the stress of Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s wedding with the stress of another set of new clients. He was currently typing a passive-aggressive email to the new bride after she’d changed the guest list dramatically for the fourth time that week when he hit send with a huff.</p>
<p>The email whizzed across his screen as the phone went to voicemail, Jongin not able to pick it up in time, as he received <em>another</em> email from <em>another</em> bride who was freaking out about catering prices.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Kai Kim for Eclipse Events, please leave a message after the beep!” </em>
</p>
<p>There was a pause and Jongin, who was half-listening anyway, figured they’d put down the phone without leaving a message as he frantically tried to find the contact number for the catering company. He had skimmed halfway through his leather binder when a familiarly velvety chuckle echoed from the phone and made him freeze in his seat.</p>
<p>“Kai Kim, this is Sehun Oh of O.C.S Systems. I believe we know each other very well and would like to get in touch with you,” Sehun chuckled again, ever-so-huskily, “Call me back when you can.”</p>
<p>Jongin snapped up the phone receiver and scrambled for a full minute as it dropped to the desk and bumped against his keyboard before pushing it against the ear with a simple, strangled out:</p>
<p>“Hi!”</p>
<p>There was another pause and the wedding planner wondered if Sehun had put the phone down in all the commotion. But he chuckled again, a second time, and the sound made Jongin break out into a nervous sweat like he was sixteen again and Sehun was the cool jock ringing him about prom.</p>
<p>“You sound surprised,” Sehun spoke simply, “Should I have called?”</p>
<p>“When I’m at work I tend to connect my iPhone to my work phone…flustered brides tend to contact me from all angles and it’s just easier,” Jongin paused, “Hi.”</p>
<p>“Hi,” Sehun replied.</p>
<p>A couple of emails arrived into Jongin’s inbox, and on the desk next to him his workmate Lea placed a stack of paperwork beside the office fan, sending papers scattering across the floor. The wedding planner paid no notice to it as he twirled the phone cord between his fingers and bit into his bottom lip. He’d wanted Sehun to call him - Baekhyun had even made a playful guess as to when it would be - Jongin just hadn’t expected it in the middle of his work day.</p>
<p>“If you’re busy with work I can call you later,”</p>
<p>“No,” Jongin intercepted quickly, “I can talk, it’s okay.”</p>
<p>Lea and Selene sent Jongin a look as they tried to collect the scattered papers across the office floor. It went unseen as Jongin began to imagine Sehun sat at his own desk, surrounded by the dark ebony colour scheme, the beautiful leather books and the vase of white dahlias. His heart wobbled ever so at the thought of Sehun listening to his voice and staring at the beautiful flowers.</p>
<p>“I wondered if I could see you again. We could go to dinner, or just grab a coffee, maybe. No pressure, honestly.”</p>
<p>Sehun’s words sounded rather rehearsed and Jongin tried to suppress the giggle bubbling in his throat. Past the expensive suits and cars, the glossy business and outstanding career goals, he was still the same Sehun that used to practise business pitches to Jongin’s few plushies.</p>
<p>Following his lunch with Baekhyun the other day, Jongin had thought a lot, and slept on his feelings to wake up with fresh thoughts. After the night of Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s wedding, when he and Sehun had spent the night naked tangled in sheets and nostalgia, Jongin realised he really wanted to see Sehun again. The few hours that he’d spent with Sehun that evening – including the mind-blowing sex that had had him shaking like an autumn leaf – set his skin alive with anticipation.</p>
<p>“I think that sounds really nice,” Jongin’s excitement couldn’t hide his bashful side, “I’d love to go to dinner with you.”  </p>
<p>“Great, when are you free? I could book us a table for somewhere tomorrow?” Sehun suggested.</p>
<p>“I finish work at around five?”</p>
<p>“Then I’ll be there at five to meet you. See you tomorrow, Jongie,” Sehun wished before the phone call ended. </p>
<p>Jongin had opened his mouth to say goodbye but it was too late. The dial tone beeped once at him. Instead, the wedding planner smiled and placed the phone down, only to slump dreamily in his chair and fiddle with his pen. His mind wondered again to Sehun sat in his office, staring at the phone too, or his computer screen.</p>
<p>Or maybe he was staring at his dahlias again. Maybe he’d been staring at them throughout the whole phone call and smelling their scent as Jongin’s words floated down the receiver. Little did Jongin know, as he leaned forward to open his emails and roll his eyes across the frantic words, Sehun had.</p>
<p>In fact, while Sehun had held the phone to his ear, his other hand was free to trail along the soft, white petals and his mind had wandered to Jongin’s hands, and how soft they were. </p>
<p>The next day, Jongin clocked off early after some puppy eyes and pouting at his boss and changed into a prepared outfit in the unisex toilet stalls. Anticipation for his date with Sehun meant he’d barely slept the previous night. In fact, Jongin had rolled and kicked across the bed so much Monggu had barked at him at 3am, pressing his paws into Jongin’s arm and staring down at him with a strange look in his eye.</p>
<p>The wedding planner had spent the afternoon working at his desk with gold, under-eye treatment patches eradicating his dark circles.</p>
<p>As with everything else in Jongin and Sehun’s strange love story, it was the fear of the unknown that affected the male most. The couple’s old date nights used to consist of stumbling across new bars or tucked away pubs, ordering from greasy food vendors and walking along Chicago River until it was too cold to carry on. The Oh brothers lived a whole different life now, which showed alone in the cars they drove and the beautiful office they worked in. Jongin had no idea just where Sehun would take him and immediately felt bashful at the thought of sitting in one of those high class, small-plate-big-price restaurants; especially opposite an excruciatingly handsome renowned businessman.</p>
<p>With Baekhyun on a faraway island with his new husband – Jongin didn’t want to imagine the details – it was Mark who was on hand to advise on outfits. He had peered into his android with glasses on the end of his nose and his torso hunched over his acoustic guitar to blink blearily at endless satin shirt and pants combinations. They’d both decided on a pale blue shirt with grey check pants and a long, tan coat. Jongin hoped that he wouldn’t look too underdressed for wherever they might be dining tonight as he threw a decorative silk scarf around his neck and left the office to await Sehun’s arrival.</p>
<p>He knew as he stood outside, in the darkening evening, that some of the ladies he worked with in the office were playfully watching from the window and tried to ignore it. His cheeks blushed for no good reason at all when the pitch-black Audi R8 pulled up across the street. Jongin couldn’t even step off the pavement before Sehun emerged from the driver’s side, head to toe in some perfectly cut, designer suit and a bouquet of flowers in his arm. The world froze for a good second as the two just stared at each other, both trying to work out if this was all real, when Sehun’s lips broke into a small smile.</p>
<p>Jongin still knew exactly what that smile meant. Sehun always used to look at him that way if he’d gone away with his family for a few days, or vice versa. Seeing that smile had always filled Jongin’s tummy with the happiest butterflies and it appeared it still had the same effect.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry I’m late,” Sehun spoke as he reached Jongin on the pavement, “I was on an international call to one of Chanyeol’s contacts.”</p>
<p>The wedding planner bit onto his smile to stop a giggle slipping from his lips. Oh Sehun was never late and yet always apologised for being so.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, I’ve only just come outside,” Jongin couldn’t help but glance to the dark pink peonies that were bundled up in brown paper, “Are these for me?”</p>
<p>“Of course, I picked them out especially,” Sehun answered as he passed the bouquet over.</p>
<p>Jongin took the bouquet as if it were a newborn and gazed into the deep pink petals. His heart fluttered at the perfect, floral scent that floated from them. He couldn’t help but bury his nose into them once Sehun had opened the car door for him and he was belted safely in the passenger seat.</p>
<p>“Do you know what they mean?” Jongin asked quizzically.</p>
<p>Sehun chuckled ever so as he revved the car to life and drove off down the road. At  a stop light he took a moment to briefly glance at Jongin and the smirk on his face had the passenger’s cheeks flushing once more.</p>
<p>“I know that you do.”</p>
<p>The car revved again and Jongin glanced back to the pretty petals in his lap.</p>
<p>“Dark pink flowers suggest gratitude and admiration,” Jongin smiled happily.</p>
<p>“It seemed quite appropriate. I wasn’t sure if there were specific flowers to give to an ex so I went with the next best thing,” Sehun chuckled.</p>
<p>“You’d be surprised!” Jongin couldn’t help but laugh as he thought back to the days he spent working in the florist.</p>
<p>The days when he’d return home and cook for Sehun, kiss him softly on the mouth and crave to know every detail of his day. The male remembered where he was and silenced his brain and its revolving door of Sehun memories to gaze out the window. October had brought fall with it and 5 o’clock looked more like 8 with the darkening skies and people rushing by in big coats.</p>
<p>Then he noticed the part of town they were driving along was the richer side of Michigan Avenue. Every store was designer and each restaurant or wine bar was a place Jongin had never dreamed he’d be able to afford.</p>
<p>The brown paper that was wrapped around the peonies crinkled as he subconsciously tensed, thinking of extravagant menus that went over his head a little, and it didn’t go unnoticed. In a queue of traffic Sehun’s dark eyes couldn’t help but loom across to Jongin. Everything he had spoken with the flowers was true. He admired Jongin and felt gratitude for being able to see him again, to be able to take his long lost love to dinner, for them to share their time together. Sehun glanced to the fancy eatery he had made a reservation for but smiled to himself as he drove past it.</p>
<p>They’d fallen into a comfortable silence after their brief conversation and it stayed that way until Sehun found himself parking up at Navy Pier. Jongin’s whole body language changed the minute he’d pulled into the car park, suddenly he was grinning like a kid and tugging at Sehun’s expensive sleeve, practically bobbing in his seat.</p>
<p>“Are we going to Navy Pier?!”</p>
<p>Sehun smiled when he switched off the engine. It was the kind of smile that reached his eyes and Jongin found it so contagious he didn’t know what to do but stare at it. The male felt as if they were kids again and no time had gone by, that he could just lean over to kiss Sehun’s cheek with no repercussions other than being grabbed on the back of his neck and pulled in for another. Jongin tried to keep his feet on the ground and not let himself get swept along with the nostalgia. </p>
<p>“Nothing wrong with a little fun after a long day of work, hmm?” Sehun glanced over Jongin and read him like a beloved book, “Wanna eat some greasy food and churros?”</p>
<p>The older all but tumbled from the flashy car and almost forgot to leave the bouquet safely inside it in all the excitement. This had been the last thing he had expected from Sehun and yet he was so, so glad this was how the night was going to go. With a layer of comfort and excitement simmering around Jongin, the conversation began to flow, and as the two males walked along the pier, listening to the sights and sounds of the amusements, and the smells of the fried food, it felt like they’d done it before.</p>
<p>They had.</p>
<p>Jongin only came to the realisation after a large bite of a greasy, onion-filled hotdog and he couldn’t help but gaze across at Sehun with sparkling eyes. They were on a wooden bench, looking out toward Lake Michigan under a string of lights, and Sehun had barely taken a bite from his own hotdog when he’d noticed Jongin’s expression. He glanced over him once in worry.</p>
<p>“What is it? Are you alright?”</p>
<p>“This was how one of our first dates went,” Jongin blurted with a tiny drop of mustard on his top lip, “We were going to go to the cinema but didn’t get there in time so we came here, ate hotdogs and went on the waltzers until I felt sick.”</p>
<p>Sehun’s face melted into the softest smile Jongin thought he’d ever seen grace the male’s face. He felt emotionally weak knowing that it was directed at him, and only him.</p>
<p>“I was starting to worry you didn’t remember,” Sehun confessed quietly before busying himself with his food.</p>
<p>Under the bright lights of the pier Jongin caught the way the younger blushed and felt emotionally weaker for being the one who caused it. There that feeling was again, the tiny voice in his head whispering that everything that had happened between them no longer mattered now they were sat together like this. On the tourist-filled pier no one knew them, or cared to know them, and it was like being in a bubble they’d never left.</p>
<p>The older couldn’t help but hutch himself along the bench, ever so, toward Sehun. The younger noticed because he looked up from the long hotdog and practically gazed into Jongin’s eyes. Jongin felt his body fill with a long lost happiness and ease that near enough felt like coming home.</p>
<p>“Of course I remember. I thought I was going to throw up over one of the cutest guys in Chicago,” Jongin smiled.</p>
<p>“Yeah, me too,” Sehun agreed with a chuckle.</p>
<p>The two both took a tentative bite from their food and enjoyed the comfortable quiet between them. Then Jongin felt eyes on him and he couldn’t help but meet Sehun’s gaze. He looked younger, all of a sudden, his cheeks glowing under the lights of the pier. The male then leaned across and tentatively wiped the drop of mustard from Jongin’s lip with a fond expression. The wedding planner mumbled bashful thanks and then concentrated back on his hotdog.</p>
<p>Jongin figured if Chanyeol and Baekhyun had a magical crystal ball, they’d be watching them from it and giggling over how funny they looked, sat on a bench eating together like this. A successful wedding planner, with an even more successful businessman; blushing like school kids and looking at everything but each other.</p>
<p>“You’re not scared of heights, right?”</p>
<p>Sehun made it seem like a question but both sides knew Sehun already knew the answer. Jongin shook his head regardless with pouched hamster cheeks finishing the last of his food. The younger was wiping his hands with a napkin and passed Jongin a fresh one for himself.</p>
<p>“We’ve been on almost all the rides here bar one,” Sehun spoke again before glancing up at the large ferris wheel, the centrepiece of the pier, “You want to?”</p>
<p>Jongin couldn’t help but grin in excitement.</p>
<p>The wedding planner couldn’t remember the last time he saw a view like the top of the ferris wheel. He and Sehun were in a cart of their own, sat side by side, staring out of the glass to the cityscape under the moon. It felt as if the world was still moving, people had places to be, and yet Jongin and Sehun were simply paused, watching it all, from somewhere time no longer affected them. When Sehun’s arm came round to perch lightly around the back of Jongin’s shoulders, it sealed the bubble.</p>
<p>They were together; alone.</p>
<p>Jongin couldn’t help but admire Sehun’s perfect features in the low glow of the lights. He was glancing out across the view of the lake toward the marina – he was either unaware of Jongin watching him or was simply not acknowledging it – his eyes dark and brow concentrated. It was always their quiet moments that spoke great volumes. The elder’s head tilted as he read the younger’s expression like a book, recalling what every line, blink and twitch meant.</p>
<p>“What is it?” Jongin heard himself ask.</p>
<p>Sehun glanced momentarily to his feet, black dress shoes impeccably shiny, before he shyly met Jongin’s gaze with a strange look in his eyes. Jongin’s gut bubbled with unease until he remembered the warm presence of Sehun’s arm around his shoulders.</p>
<p>“I’m not good with words, even at work with meetings and interviews, Chanyeol was always the speaker. I just feel like there’s no real leverage to words in comparison to actions, or acting on something, on a feeling.”</p>
<p>“I never dated you because you were some romantic, verse reciting Shakespeare, Sehun,” Jongin couldn’t help but interrupt with a smile.</p>
<p>It was true, as they both knew. That fond smile returned to Sehun’s face and his features softened ever so, his hand now squeezing gently at Jongin’s shoulder, but he glanced back to his shoes.</p>
<p>“I’m just glad we’re doing this, Jongin. Whatever this is, it makes me real fucking happy. That’s what I want to say,” Sehun finished with a determined nod of his head.</p>
<p>“How happy?”</p>
<p>Jongin blurted the question out so fast he felt whiplash for it, but he knew what he was getting himself into by doing it. All night he’d felt like a teenager, drunk on Sehun and the beautiful nostalgia he brought with him. They’d spoken at the wedding and then in the honeymoon suite; words were useless at this point.</p>
<p>He didn’t want to hear anymore words even if it was Sehun saying them.</p>
<p>The younger’s chin whipped in Jongin’s direction fast, and there was a gentle shock across his eyes like he’d been surprised to hear what Jongin asked, then realisation. Sehun didn’t hesitate; the hand that had been resting on Jongin’s shoulder thrusted into the back of his hair to bring him closer. There was an urgency at first, as if Sehun only had so much time to show Jongin everything in felt in one, simple kiss, their lips meshing together with everything he had.</p>
<p>Off the top of his head, amidst the sudden wonderfully distracting kissing, Jongin couldn’t think how long it had been since that night in the hotel when Sehun had rocked his body like a bolt of lightning. Either way, it felt too long, and he melted like liquid gold in Sehun’s strong arms. They kissed all the way round the ferris wheel, and when they reached the bottom and the attendant opened the doors Sehun all but threw money at him to command they go round again. Jongin had giggled at the sight as Sehun’s lips and teeth dragged across his jaw and neck, a smirk upon the younger’s face too.</p>
<p>The kiss never progressed any further than hasty pulling of hair and Jongin clenching his fists around Sehun’s lapels so hard they creased. They stumbled off the cart giggling hand in hand, doing anything not to look the attendant in the eye. Jongin had forgotten what a sweet sight Sehun laughing was, hunching over slightly, squeezing onto the elder’s hand and his pretty eyes scrunching in delight. They stumbled along the pier, acknowledging that it was quieter now people had headed home for the evening, and only stopped to grab Jongin a huge stick of candyfloss.</p>
<p>Sehun glanced at his watch as the pier workers went about shutting up their stalls. The sight made Jongin think of the dong of a dreaded bell, signalling the end of a wonderful evening. He tried not to deflate so visibly in front of Sehun as he crunched the candyfloss slowly.</p>
<p>“It’s getting late, I don’t want you to be tired for work tomorrow. I’ll drive you home,” Sehun proposed as his arm hovered at the small of Jongin’s back to urge him along the pier.</p>
<p>“This evening has been so fun, Sehun,” Jongin confessed, hiding his face in the candy, “I had that feeling again, of old times meeting new.”</p>
<p>“I feel the same way,” Sehun agreed easily.</p>
<p>The younger drew Jongin closer and the wedding planner had never felt so warm and cosy in his life, despite a cold, evening wind creeping up on them and fluttering through their coats. They were about to fall into another comfortable silence but Jongin’s heart had a flash of confidence and he glanced up at his ex-boyfriend.</p>
<p>“Let’s do something on Friday night,” he proposed with a soft smile.</p>
<p>He regretted it immediately when Sehun’s face twisted into a slight grimace – his hand never left Jongin’s back – and disappointment crept up the elder’s spine like a demon climbing a ladder. Jongin took a large chomp of his candyfloss in readiness to hear Sehun turn the offer down.</p>
<p>“I have a dinner reservation with my parents and a few other family members that have flown in from home,” Sehun paused, his hand trailing up Jongin’s back until he squeezed sweetly at the back of the elder’s neck and remained there, keeping it warm, “I can dedicate all of Sunday to you? We can drive up to the beach.”</p>
<p>The first thought thrust into Jongin’s mind was relief; he was glad Sehun hadn’t invited him to said family dinner because that truly was too much too fast. A carefree day on a breezy beach on Sunday sounded like Jongin’s form of heaven, he could bring Monggu and some packed up food and they could walk along the sand all day. His cheeks felt warm from the smile hovering across them. He nodded eagerly and Sehun smiled in response.</p>
<p>When Sehun’s fancy car rolled up outside of Jongin’s home, the wedding planner couldn’t help but feel sorrow for having to get out of it. All the way home he had debated himself dry whether he should invite Sehun inside – in the least innocent way possible - but the hardworking male had yawned repeatedly as he drove. Jongin had smiled softly to himself and felt more at ease with the thought of Sehun tucked into his bed until he remembered it was once their bed…and stepping into his own home felt strange. They’d shared a chaste yet lingering kiss as Sehun’s hand snuck across to stroke Jongin’s knee and then told him to text him once he was inside.</p>
<p>Jongin had laughed, literally pointing to his front door which was within metres of the car’s view, but Sehun’s expression was indignant. So Jongin kissed him one last time before heading in. He watched Sehun’s black car drive away into the night, locked his front door then stood looking across the home he had made himself over the last two years, trying to make some sense of it.</p>
<p>✿ ❀</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for the continuous love, everyone, I appreciate it so much! Sehun and Nini's story is almost coming to an end but there's a few more parts yet so there's a little more Sekai, Chanbaek and Monggu to enjoy! ❀</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Seven ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jongin feels like there's one last obstacle left to face in his rekindled relationship with Sehun...so he's going to face it head on. With Monggu by his side, obviously. ✿ ❀</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The weeks that followed turned easily to a month, and then two, as Jongin and Sehun’s relationship reconnected. They spoke frequently on the phone, met up in the city for long lunches and every so often Sehun would surprise Jongin with a night in some beautiful hotel where they’d do nothing but lay between expensive sheets and follow fingertip trails down each other’s bodies.</p>
<p>When the newlyweds had finally returned from their honeymoon looking sun kissed and sexed out, they all went to dinner to catch up, and Baekhyun’s eyes sparkled in delight every time Sehun would pull Jongin’s chair out for him, or even top up his wine glass. It turned into a weekly thing, then, the four of them meeting together and taking it in turns to pick a new restaurant to try. Jongin had even told his parents that he and Sehun were in a relationship again and had laughed at the surprise etched on his Eomma’s face.</p>
<p>Jongin felt like a final puzzle piece had been slotted into his life somewhere. Sure, waking up on Monday mornings were as painful as ever, packed trains were the bane of his life and every so often Monggu peed on his floors but everything else felt as it should be. Plus, Sehun loved the poodle so much and expressed how much he wanted a poodle of his own.</p>
<p>There was something they hadn’t quite ticked off yet that hung in the back of Jongin’s mind like a strange cloud.</p>
<p>One night after a date where a few too many cocktails had been consumed Jongin convinced Sehun to come inside of his place. Waking up the next morning to see Sehun soundly sleeping in Jongin’s pile of pillows with violet-kisses down his neck was a light, lifting feeling that lingered in his heart for days. Jongin had wanted him to stay the night over and over after that, but contrary to that, he dreaded stepping foot in their old place. Sehun had never suggested it as he could obviously pick up on Jongin’s hesitance, which made the latter feel bad, and surely since they were starting off again he should want to see their place?</p>
<p>And so one day, Jongin ignored whatever was screaming inside of him against it.</p>
<p>Winter had set into the windy city which meant heavy duty coats were required. He wrapped up warm and even put Monggu in his padded doggy coat before lifting the excitable bundle into his arms and locking his front door. He rushed to the cab that was waiting for him and jumped inside, heading to Sehun’s, to home. Jongin was coming without warning, he didn’t tell Sehun, he just knew he had to do it like ripping off a band aid. It felt like the last wall to break down and there was no time like the cold, windy present. Monggu stayed put on his knee with his little paws on the window, watching the city go by.</p>
<p>When the taxi pulled up and he stepped onto his old street he was almost knocked over by the familiar smells of the coffee shop across the way. He walked toward the building and held onto Monggu’s lead nervously, hoping this was the good idea he thought it was. Maybe it made sense he’d left so swiftly and returned in the same fashion. He still knew the building code so he beeped himself in with ease and head up the stairs. Monggu’s paws clicked on the tile floors and the cute sound comforted his beating heart.</p>
<p>“We’re gonna go see where your Appa used to live,” Jongin told the curious dog as they made their way up the endless stairwells.</p>
<p>If this were a drama, or a sad movie, there would have been a dramatic scene where his past self would pass Jongin on the stairs from the day he left like two ghosts running into each other. But this was real life, and his imagination did a good enough job of it. His stomach flipped when he and his pooch reached the too familiar door and he knocked on it eagerly. Today he conquered this and their true journey began.</p>
<p>He didn’t know if it was his nerves but he felt like he was stood there for a long time, and even Monggu got fussy, scratching at the door and tugging at his lead impatiently. Jongin went to knock again in case Sehun was showering but echoing footsteps came from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see a neighbour returning home, but there was Sehun wrapped up in a fancy coat and a scarf half covering his face. Monggu immediately barked excitedly and dashed toward the male.</p>
<p>“Jongin,” Sehun blurted out in surprise from behind the thick scarf.</p>
<p>He huffed once and removed it from his face and blinked curiously, as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing. He didn’t, of course, Sehun knew things with Jongin were going from strength to strength but he genuinely didn’t think he’d see the day Jongin came home. He’d thought that this moment would come far into the future with a little more alcohol-liquid-coaxing.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry I didn’t call, or text or anything, I just…” Jongin trailed off and shrugged, “Felt like it was the right time.”</p>
<p>“I see,” Sehun nodded a little before glancing at the front door, “So, you’re coming inside?”</p>
<p>“Mhm,” Jongin hummed.</p>
<p>His hands were still toying nervously at Monggu’s lead when Sehun glanced over his face, truly analysing, making sure that Jongin was okay with this. When he was satisfied that he was, Sehun’s keys twinkled and he unlocked the door and offered for Jongin to go in first, like the gentleman he was. Jongin did as he was told and a thousand and one flashes of de ja vu hit him all at once as he entered their threshold, and like Baekhyun had told him all those weeks ago, nothing in the apartment had changed.</p>
<p>Not even the trinkets had moved an inch.</p>
<p>He stared at his surroundings in the same way a child would gaze at a museum and its artefacts. Jongin even let out a stupid laugh at the familiar smell that lingered in the rooms. Naturally there were some new additions, where beat-up business textbooks once littered the coffee table and the bookcases, was now a new set of novels with dramatic titles and a glossy home décor magazine. Where both he and Sehun’s coats had once hung on a coat stand by the door, now only the younger’s were there, black trench coats with expensive labels.</p>
<p>The yellow-painted frame that Jongin had made himself at their tiny dining table was still hung proudly on the wall; he and Sehun’s young, happy faces squished together cheek to cheek with blinding smiles and the hints of Sehun’s fingers on Jongin’s jaw. Jongin was lost in looking at the image he jumped when Sehun took the dog lead from his hand, only to entwine it with his, giving a long squeeze.</p>
<p>“Wasn’t this torture?” Jongin couldn’t help but let slip with an unsteady voice, “I couldn’t have looked at this everyday knowing we weren’t…<em>that</em>, together.”</p>
<p>“I took everything down once, about a month after you left,” Sehun confessed as his hand fell limp in Jongin’s hold, “Not seeing the traces of us here felt worse. I put everything back as it was not even an hour later.”</p>
<p>“Fuck, sorry,” Jongin breathed as he looked over Sehun’s face.</p>
<p>“No more apologies, remember?” the male returned with another squeeze of his hand.</p>
<p>Sehun’s thumb trailed along Jongin’s finger and looped round his knuckle comfortingly, the younger smiled ever so even if it didn’t meet his eyes, depending on their touch saying more than words could.</p>
<p><em>I’m glad you’re here</em>, spoke the sweet motions of Sehun’s thumb.</p>
<p><em>Me too</em>, replied Jongin’s lips as he kissed the back of his love’s hand.</p>
<p>He wanted to stand there and feel Sehun’s warm touch against his skin forever but the poodle started to whine loudly, eager to come off the leash and explore his new surroundings, so Sehun knelt down to free Monggu. Like dog, like owner, as Jongin couldn’t help but wander to their little kitchen.</p>
<p>To the sound of little paws clicketing across the wooden floors Jongin glanced across the array of magnets on the fridge, touching over the ones he’d placed there years ago, and admiring the news ones that had popped up. His fingers lingered over a Polaroid beneath a smiley face magnet of a miserable Sehun stuck next to a heavily making out Chanyeol and Baekhyun. He span on the spot and couldn’t resist opening the cupboard doors, letting out a breath at the sight of the colourful, now very used bowls stacked nicely, the ones he’d brought from a pretty stall back in Seoul.</p>
<p>“I was going to get groceries tomorrow but I can offer you water, and possibly an out of date muesli bar,” Sehun spoke as he teetered into the kitchen.</p>
<p>He’d hung up his coat and scarf, and judging from the way he now wore a casual long sleeved tee and some comfortable joggers underneath, he must have been at the gym. He and Chanyeol had built one in their building for the use of their employees and Jongin figured that’s probably where the male had been all morning. They’d joked recently that all their food-orientated dates were the cause of Sehun being there so much.</p>
<p>“Water sounds good,” Jongin spoke, and then by impulse turned and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet.</p>
<p>The strangest, saddest look passed over Sehun’s features. The younger looked like a computer calibrating and rebooting itself and when Jongin looked at the glasses in his hands, he realised what he’d done. He heard himself laugh but his eyes glassed over until tears rolled slowly down his cheeks. Jongin felt silly. He placed the glasses on the counter and quickly wiped the tears from his cheeks with the back of his hand. That strange look was still etched across Sehun’s features and it was starting to make Jongin’s heart squeeze sadly so he leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss to the corner of his mouth.</p>
<p>Monggu barked curiously from somewhere. The sound made Sehun’s mouth open and close but no sound came from it. He glanced to the floor and left the kitchen, leaving Jongin to gather himself by the window. The older had the horrible gut feeling that maybe he should have called, or at least approached the topic with Sehun over dinner. It didn’t feel wrong, but it didn’t feel right either.</p>
<p>He didn’t want to think, and over-think, and force labels to his feelings, so Jongin ran the cold tap and poured two glasses of water to carry back to their lounge. The wedding planner expected to see Sehun sat on his corner of the sofa, sat quietly in thought, or even buffing at the coffee table. The only one there was Monggu, wagging his tail and staring at Jongin expectantly. Jongin frowned in confusion when he heard a faint sniffle from the bedroom; their bedroom.</p>
<p>Naturally, he assumed Sehun was changing out of his gym clothes and had left the door ajar, but then the sniffle came again. Monggu even turned at the noise. Jongin left the water on the coffee table and inched toward the bedroom door, peeking his head around it like a child peering into his parent’s room. His heart dropped at the sight.</p>
<p>He could count on his hands the times he’d seen Sehun cry.</p>
<p>“S-sorry.”</p>
<p>Sehun rasped as he sat on the edge of the monochrome sheets, arms wrapped across his chest, tears falling from his impossibly dark eyes. This bold, sexy and successful businessman looked tiny, sniffling and wiping his face with his t-shirt like a child would. Jongin couldn’t help but go to him without a second thought, lowering himself onto Sehun’s lap to wrap every inch of his body around Sehun’s.</p>
<p>The motion made Sehun’s body give in and fall limp into Jongin’s warmth. They both pushed their hands through the others’ hair at the same time and Jongin would have laughed if he wasn’t so concentrated on catching Sehun’s tears with sweet kisses, even if his own were mixing with them.</p>
<p>“No more apologies,” Jongin urged with a slight sob.</p>
<p>“I just,” Sehun’s voice cracked and Jongin’s heart with it, “I never thought you’d come back.”</p>
<p>An apology hovered over Jongin’s lips, naturally, but they were both sick of hearing it so he swallowed it down. Instead, he cradled Sehun’s face and held him impossibly close until their heartbeats met between their chests. He whispered his soft lips across Sehun’s cheekbones and when his lover closed his eyes, he kissed them too, and lingered with purpose. In return Sehun dipped down and buried his face in Jongin’s neck until the tip of his cold nose tickled the dip of his collar and his lips grazed his chest.</p>
<p>“I’m never going to leave you like that again,” Jongin cried into Sehun’s black hair, “I promise, <em>I swear</em>, I promise.”</p>
<p>Sehun pulled back and gazed up at Jongin with red, tearstained cheeks like he’d arisen from the dead. He sniffled once as Jongin stroked his fingertips along his lover’s pink lips like he was made of glass; maybe in this moment, and for all moments leading up to it, he was. He held the man’s face in his hands and nodded, staring into Sehun’s eyes like one of them was going to disappear.</p>
<p>“I swear, Sehun, I fucking swear,” Jongin rasped desperately.   </p>
<p>He held his face and pressed more kisses, fiercer this time, until suddenly Sehun moved against him and their lips met. Sehun all but knotted Jongin’s hair into his fist as he pushed his tongue into the others mouth as if he’d been yearning for it for years.</p>
<p>They’d had sex over the last two months. They’d lie together in tangled sheets, kissed lazily in hotel beds, gasped and groaned and gripped the headboard of Jongin’s bed. But, they hadn’t done this, in their own bed and their own home in sheets that smelt so dizzyingly of Sehun and their life together. Maybe that’s what Sehun longed for the most…them, where they belonged.</p>
<p>So Jongin gave into him twofold.</p>
<p>Till now, their sex had been passionate, well-choreographed to a point. Fucking in expensive hotels just produced something different from them, but this was a whole other dance. Sehun’s hands couldn’t stop shaking when they trailed along Jongin’s parted thighs which made the latter’s breath hitch the way it did when he was a virgin. In fact, when Sehun’s warm body slid between Jongin’s thighs and gripped his wrists he trembled like it <em>was</em> their first time.</p>
<p>It started out clumsy; foreplay was rushed and when Sehun entered Jongin he wasn’t fully prepped so the slight sting didn’t provide its normal pleasure. They fumbled to find the right rhythm and with his head buried in their old pillows, Jongin constantly thrashed between nostalgia and right-fucking-now. He was only able to catch his breath when Sehun hitched up his hips and buried so deep into him; chests flushed, foreheads pressed together, staying there. His hands trickled through the back of Sehun’s hair as he exhaled from his parted lips. Jongin was able to open his eyes then, and when they met Sehun’s, he knew there was no going back.</p>
<p>Sehun was his forever.</p>
<p>Their old bed frame rocked and creaked the way it always had and when the intensity between them hit its peak, Jongin let out a stupid laugh and his body shuddered against Sehun’s, twitching from the pressure against his sensitive prostate. The laugh must have been infectious because they were suddenly two hot, sweaty and very-much-connected idiots laughing, until Sehun’s hips slammed forward and Jongin gasped out with gusto.</p>
<p>Sehun’s hips found rhythm then. He eagerly hooked Jongin’s legs over his elbows and pounded the latter into the mattress until the bed sounded like it was going to break and collapse; Jongin more so. Sehun’s balls slapped eagerly against Jongin and the way his untouched length was now caught between his own stomach and his lover’s washboard abs sent the younger’s back arching with each steep thrust.</p>
<p>His toes curled and he cried out with tears of pleasure pooling at his eyes when he came between their stomachs. Sehun sucked and licked at his throat and fucked at his hole until Jongin was a shaking mess and one last drop of cum oozed pathetically from his tip.</p>
<p>“Fuck, fuck,” Sehun growled into Jongin’s soft neck with other strewn out curses.</p>
<p>His broad shoulders tensed above the Jongin’s body like an umbrella protecting him from the storm and Jongin clutched to his lover as he came. He couldn’t help but lock his feet around Sehun’s back and keep him in place, adorning soft, open-mouthed kisses over his temple. When he peered up his body gave out and Jongin giggled at the way his warm boyfriend flopped across him like a teddy bear. He trailed their noses together and kissed slowly, teeth bumping because Jongin couldn’t wipe the grin from his face.</p>
<p>Sehun kissed him long and hard before dropping his lips to Jongin’s ear, his large hand caressing the rest of his face, keeping him there.</p>
<p>“Welcome home, dahlia.”</p>
<p>A sweet, soft moan fell from Jongin’s contented lips as he held onto Sehun’s body, smelling the sweat trickling down his neck, resting his lips on the skin of his shoulders because it simply felt so soft there.</p>
<p>“Keep me here forever,” Jongin drawled like a lovesick teenager, and the words must have worked, because Sehun blew a ticklish raspberry against his neck and the younger laughed so loud the neighbours heard it.</p>
<p>✿ ❀</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>✿ The biggest thank you ever for your constant love and support! You're all too sweet. So...the next chapter shall be the last...but I'm working hard to make sure you'll all enjoy it! I'll update as soon as I can, so you can all meet with Nini, Sehun, Loey and Baek one last time! ❀</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Eight ❀</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The final part of Sehun and Jongin's story! ✿ </p><p>Baekhyun has BIG news. Sehun has an important question. Jongin has an important answer. Chanyeol's just...chilling, really. ✿</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>✿ ❀</p><p>One Year Later</p><p>✿ ❀</p><p> </p><p>“You’re late,” Baekhyun sang as soon as he swung open his front door.</p><p>Jongin immediately huffed and rolled his eyes in dismissal, bustling into the apartment and eagerly toeing off his work shoes to replace them with slippers. He heard the echoing of beer cans being opened along with distant chatter and immediately felt thirsty. He was late, but in his own defence, Baekhyun hadn’t left his apartment all day the brothers’ office was closer to here then Eclipse Events was.</p><p>“The kids are being really fussy today, it’s not my fault,” Jongin replied with a huff.</p><p>The tired wedding planner released the two poodles from their leads and watched the furry babies dash off, paws skidding on the pristine wood flooring, and into the Park-Byun home. Chanyeol loudly greet the dogs as Jongin pulled off his heavy coat and passed it to Baekhyun’s open hands to take. He wished he hadn’t when the male simply shrugged the jacket sluggishly onto the floor beside the coat rack and grabbed at Jongin’s sleeve, ushering him inside.</p><p>“I can forgive the fur babies, but I can’t forgive you, Jongie, I’m a Taurus,” Baekhyun quipped.</p><p>“What’s this about, anyway, Baek?” Jongin couldn’t help but ask, “You texted me at 4am saying you had a huge announcement followed by three ASAP’s, a string of gasping emojis and one of those emotional crying cat memes.”</p><p>All day Jongin had been trying with vigour to focus at work; another big wedding weekend was nearing and it was hard to count personalised napkins as well as argue with a jeweller’s for sending the wrong batch of cufflinks all while trying to figure out what his best friend was so excited for. By process of elimination, he knew Baekhyun wasn’t getting engaged, married or pregnant, because he’d ticked those boxes and lacked the right parts for the latter. Between the few, precious minutes at work he could sip his coffee and relax, Jongin was mentally at a loss.</p><p>“It wouldn’t be an announcement if I tell you in the hallway and then tell everyone else afterward,” Baekhyun regarded with a wry grin as they entered the living room.</p><p>The living room was decked out in an array of colourful balloons – even hanging haphazardly from the ceiling – and Jongin wasn’t surprised in the slightest if that had been the only thing Baekhyun had done all day. The dogs were currently rushing through them excitedly. Chanyeol had already changed out of his suit and almost looked like he didn’t belong amongst the glamour of his expensively luxurious apartment in a pair of sweats twice the size of him and a beanie atop his head. He drank from a beer can eagerly from where he slouched on the sofa, guzzling like a spring lamb, and sending a lazy wave to Jongin.</p><p>Sehun on the other hand, fitted into the surroundings perfectly in his crisp cut grey suit, black tie still knotted perfectly around his neck. The wedding planner felt his chest flutter with excitable butterflies as if he was seeing him for the first time all over again, even if he was the one to fix his lover’s tie that morning. Jongin grinned when the poodles leapt and bound over his love’s legs and Sehun yelped, grabbing his beer before it was knocked over.</p><p>“Monggu! Vivi!” he scolded although it fell on deaf puppy ears.</p><p>Jongin would have laughed but a small force shoved him forward.</p><p>“Okay, now we’re all here!” Baekhyun called excitedly.</p><p>The wedding planner wobbled on the spot, yet with the balloons on the floor and the happy dogs skirting around his ankles with haste, he stumbled into Sehun’s waiting arms. When Sehun easily brought him to his lap Jongin swooned and pressed a soft kiss to the younger’s jaw like it was their party, and not Baekhyun’s. The younger Oh brother had never been one for PDA in their first years yet the last year had been filled with lingering hands, soft tickly kisses and an array of gazes that were both appropriate and inappropriate in public.  </p><p>When Sehun kept him right there, smiled like he was blessed and weaselled a hand beneath Jongin’s silk shirt to squeeze the softness of his hip, the latter sighed dreamily and kissed him again. Neither of them heard Baekhyun whining.</p><p>“Channie,” Baekhyun pouted as he pointed to the couple, “This is my day! Tell them to pay me attention!”</p><p>“Hey!” Chanyeol shouted dutifully within seconds, “This is my baby-yah’s day. Stop intermingling and listen to him.”</p><p>A regrettable groan fell from Jongin’s lips as they parted, or tried to, Sehun ruefully grabbed his face and kept littering kisses over his cheek. Jongin made no attempt to stop him.</p><p>“Well you scheduled your announcement on what is technically <em>our</em> anniversary night,” Jongin countered with a slight smile and his arms wrapped tightly around Sehun’s shoulders.</p><p>Technically being the keyword. Yes, today was the one-year anniversary of when Jongin sold up his place and moved back into their home, which also closely coincided with their old anniversary of when Sehun asked Jongin to be his all those years ago, but they’d decided to postpone celebrating until the coming weekend. Since Jongin was swamped with work and Sehun was working hard on a new overseas deal, it made sense to wait a few days before celebrating together when they could truly relax.</p><p>“Oh Jongie, we’ve never had a spiteful friendship and let’s not start now on my day,” Baekhyun sighed which produced a grin from Jongin nevertheless.</p><p>The excitement of the balloons wore off for the dogs so Baekhyun scooped up Monggu from where he stood in front of them all whereas Vivi plonked himself at Sehun’s feet. The breeder that Jongin had bought Monggu from had announced he had some new poodle puppies for sale and the wedding planner couldn’t resist buying the snowiest one as a gift for Sehun. They’d been inseparable ever since.</p><p>“You have the floor, Baek,” Sehun laughed softly as Jongin reached for his beer and drank from it.</p><p>“Okay!” Baekhyun spoke excitedly as he squeezed Monggu, “First of all, I’m pregnant!”</p><p>Chanyeol tipped his beer can upside down and loudly sipped the last of it out before giving it a shake, listening intently to any last droplets in the can, rather than his husband. Sehun couldn’t help but chuckle as Jongin sent Baekhyun a knowing smile, so the boy huffed and gave a mischievous grin.</p><p>“You guys are boring. Anyway, my real, big announcement is that I’ve been working on something secretly for quite some time now, and after some talks with <em>very</em> important people…I’m gonna be famous!” Baekhyun squeaked excitedly, setting Monggu down so he could jump up and down excitedly.</p><p>Jongin glanced to Chanyeol to grasp his reaction – he was currently squinting into the beer can to see if it was well and truly empty – then turned back to Baekhyun.</p><p>“You’re going to be famous, Baekie?” the wedding planner blurted in confusion, “How? Did you finally apply for The Bachelor?”</p><p>That got Chanyeol’s attention; the elder immediately frowned and sent a curious look in Baekhyun’s direction. His husband dismissed it with a wave of his hand and sent an innocent smile before throwing a balloon in Jongin’s direction. It didn’t get very far because Monggu immediately chased after it and soon enough the dogs were rushing around once more.</p><p>“I wrote a book and it’s totally going to be published!” Baekhyun squeaked excitedly, “I’m currently writing the ending and then it’s going to be edited by professionals!”</p><p>“A book?!” Jongin and Sehun echoed together.</p><p>Jongin knew Baekhyun was a man of many talents, but he never knew writing was on the list too. Then again, the more he thought about it, the more he could imagine Baekhyun sat cross-legged in Starbucks with a Macbook writing outrageously smutty fanfiction with his little tongue sticking out. The notion of Baekhyun being recognised and commended for his inner thoughts personified into actual print sent an excitable shock up Jongin’s back as he clapped loudly.</p><p>Or maybe it was just Sehun’s close, warm proximity.</p><p>“That sounds great, Baekhyun,” Sehun congratulated even if his hand was still trailing secretly across Jongin’s skin, “We’ll be first in line to buy a copy.”</p><p>“A signed copy!” Jongin added excitedly, “What’s it about? Fiction, memoir?”</p><p>“You guys,” Baekhyun and Chanyeol commented at the same time.</p><p>Sehun’s hand immediately froze. Jongin couldn’t help but frown in confusion even though a voice deep in his mind echoed he shouldn’t even be surprised. Baekhyun was always looking at them with such googly eyes even now, like their shiny, brand-new appeal hadn’t worn off. He just didn’t realise his best friend had started scribbling notes about them. The couple gave their immediate thoughts at the same time as each other.</p><p>“It’s about us?”</p><p>“Can you make me taller?”</p><p>“Babe,” Sehun then huffed with a laugh and Jongin turned in his lap to grin at him.</p><p>“What? It’s a perfectly acceptable demand?”</p><p>“You’re all tall enough as it is and I’m offended you’d want to even ask that,” Baekhyun huffed with an armful of balloons, the dogs jumping at them by his feet, “But since we’re on the subject I have made myself taller to fit the demands of the general public.”</p><p>“You’re perfect already, baby-yah,” Chanyeol grinned with a dopey, lovesick look across his features.</p><p>His tiny husband sent him a wink before throwing the balloons high in the chair and watching the dogs scamper around after them.</p><p>“Here’s to being a famous author!” Baekhyun cried happily, ignoring more of Sehun’s questions of why, what for, and no, honestly, why?  </p><p>When Jongin and Sehun laid in their bed that night, the wedding planner yawned softly into the crook of his love’s night, their skin hot and sticky from their mini-anniversary celebrations just prior. As Sehun had dipped to the bathroom to dispose of the condom, the poodles had rushed inside and cuddled on the bed between them, so now the younger had Jongin’s soft hair in one hand and Vivi’s ears in the other.</p><p>“I have something to tell you before you fall asleep,” Sehun whispered as his nose brushed softly against Jongin’s to stop his tiredly fluttering eyelids.</p><p>“Mm? Are you pregnant?” Jongin hummed with a playful smile.</p><p>“What we just did would be the wrong way of getting me pregnant, dahlia,” Sehun chuckled as he combed Jongin’s hair from his eyes, “This weekend we’re going to use Chanyeol’s boat. It’s supposed to be a calm, low tide, warm and cloudy too. What do you think?”</p><p>“Mm, that sounds fun,” Jongin replied.</p><p>He sent his love a sleepy smile and leaned up to peck at his lips, even though all the previous heat and excitement now dwindled to sleepiness. Jongin snuggled against Sehun’s naked body and let his eyes close peacefully, his lips pressed to his collar, where they always wanted to be. </p><p>“Go to sleep, there’s a good girl,” Sehun whispered.</p><p>Jongin immediately picked his head up in confusion, glancing over Sehun’s face, following along Sehun’s bare shoulder and down his arm to where he was softly stroking the top of Vivi’s head. The wedding planner huffed, glad that his boyfriend wasn’t talking to him like a dog, until Sehun’s other hand patted the top of his head once more.</p><p>“You too, my good boy,” Sehun chuckled before pressing a kiss to Jongin’s cheek.</p><p>“I’m never having sex with you ever again,” Jongin swore sleepily before he fell asleep, although it was a threat that barely lasted until the sun came up the following morning.</p><p> </p><p>✿ ❀</p><p> </p><p>The weather was just as Sehun had predicted, warm and calm, a gentle breeze tickling at Jongin’s bare skin every so often. The sky was blue and patchy with white fluffy clouds that threatened no rain. The lake was calm and the water naturally reflected the colour of the sky above. Chanyeol had sailed a little way out but remained in the harbour to drop anchor. All that would consist from the day ahead of them was lounging, eating, relaxing and the occasional snooze.</p><p> In true form, Baekhyun magicked a huge hamper filled with sophisticated snacks and an endless amount of champagne like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat. There was a devilish look in his eye that made Jongin feel dread. He had chased a drunken Baekhyun down the Chicago streets but he’d never had to chase him round a damn yacht.</p><p>They had all agreed to head to the boat early so Sehun and Jongin had left their home – and the puppies within it – to pick up the married couple on the way, and before the clock struck nine that morning they’d arrived at the marina. Baekhyun’s yawns kept wracking his body from waking at such an ungodly hour but he perked up the minute he hopped out the car in his flip flops.</p><p>Of course he and Chanyeol were wearing matching Hawaiian shirts, <em>of course</em>.</p><p>Jongin was all too happy to slip his hand into Sehun’s and squeeze it warmly as they walked along the boats, following after the married couple, content together. The wedding planner kept sneaking glances at his love because something about summer just suited Sehun so much; seeing his hair slicked back and shades across his face always left him looking like a model. Every time Sehun caught him looking, Jongin didn’t even bother looking away, simply grinned and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips.</p><p>A year after their reunion Jongin still had fleeting feelings of bewilderment. Sometimes when he stepped back from his hectic daily routine and career he was able to think about how far they’d come, how he and Sehun had found happiness together again, and going without that again was no longer an option.</p><p>That’s why he just couldn’t keep his hands off his lover and the feeling was obviously mutual in the way Sehun’s hand never left his thigh when they sat together. Even when they laid next to each other and the words of Jongin’s book started to dwindle under sleepy eyes Sehun’s nose whispered across his shoulder, warm lips leaving ghostly kisses of contentment. If there was ever a place to feel utterly content, it was on a disgustingly expensive yacht beneath a warm breeze smooching his lover while Baekhyun and Chanyeol eagerly discussed different types of ham.</p><p>By no means had Jongin ever considered himself someone who longed for the filthy rich, millionaire lifestyle but lying on Chanyeol’s yacht in nothing but a pair of shorts and Gucci sunglasses over his eyes felt luxurious as hell. Even amongst the ham debate.</p><p>“Jongie, can you help me reapply my sunscreen? It’s always so tricky getting the back of my neck,” Baekhyun whined as he blocked out the evening sun.</p><p>When Jongin opened his eyes he realised Baekhyun was stood over him like a child, standing with a foot on either of Jongin’s side, bent at an angle to push his face into the wedding planner’s. Jongin grumbled and pushed Baekhyun’s forehead away as thoughts of the pasta and salad selection they’d packed floated through his mind.</p><p>“What’s the point of marrying a guy with hands as huge as Chanyeol if you’re going to make everyone else slather you in sunscreen?” Jongin huffed.</p><p>It was obviously of no use because Baekhyun grabbed his wrists and hauled him upright before plonking down between his legs, again, like a child would. Through the brown shades, all Jongin could see was the back of Baekhyun’s bleached windswept head and pink neck. Maybe it was best he give in and smother the male in sun protection.</p><p>“Channie’s large hands are on such a holy level of pleasure and satisfaction due to the way they quake my body almost every other night that making them do something mundane like this is sacrilege,” Baekhyun huffed before Jongin slapped the back of his neck with sun cream, “Ow!”</p><p>“Where have they gone, anyway?” Jongin eagerly changed the topic as he rubbed the white liquid across the back of Baekhyun’s neck and shoulders.</p><p>“He has to check the radio every so often and Sehun’s probably asking him about the type of wood Chanyeol used to decorate the dashboard or something <em>boring</em> like that,” Baekhyun commented only to receive another slap to the back of his neck.</p><p>A couple of seagulls flew over their heads and the two friends watched the birds go, swooping across the water’s surface, before Jongin applied a final dollop to Baekhyun’s back. The ripple of the water was a perfect enough sound but the way it lapped up the yacht and echoed to the deck created the perfect soundboard for their day. The blue patches of the sky were starting to draw orange between the clouds as the sun began to slowly set, their perfect day coming to an end.</p><p>Then before Jongin could start to think about anything else – food, mostly – Baekhyun’s chin whipped around until they were face to face, close enough they could have kissed, should they want to. Jongin wouldn’t put it past Baekhyun, there’d been plenty of times drunk and sober his friend had playfully kissed him, platonically. The wedding planner opened his mouth to comment on their close proximity but Baekhyun beat him to it.</p><p>“Thank you for being my friend.”</p><p>It took him by surprise because there wasn’t many times when Baekhyun would produce a serious comment, with a serious tone and an even more serious expression. Jongin literally watched Baekhyun’s throat bob up and down as he swallowed and then his hand was on top of Jongin’s, squeezing a little.</p><p>“I mean it. You never had to be my friend, you could have just planned my wedding and continued with your life like I was just another client, but you didn’t,” Baekhyun paused and glanced to the pattern on Jongin’s shorts, “I don’t have a lot of friends because people don’t <em>get</em> me like Chanyeol gets me but you do.”</p><p>Baekhyun repeated the same way in which he swallowed thickly and squeezed Jongin’s hand, but then he smiled, and Jongin knew that this small, serious second was coming to a close.</p><p>“Thanks for being my best boo.”</p><p>For the first time since they met, Baekhyun’s cheeks blushed, physically flushing a pretty shade of pink that Jongin couldn’t help but grin at the sight. That’s why he leaned forward and squeezed his arms around Baekhyun’s sticky neck, grinning to himself before forcing a joking smooch on Baekhyun’s face.</p><p>“Thanks for being <em>my</em> best boo,” Jongin repeated with a grin.</p><p>“YOU KISSED ME!” Baekhyun exclaimed loudly enough that a seagull squawked and flew away from the yacht at speed.</p><p>The wedding planner couldn’t help but laugh as he lowered himself back down to lay, head against a soft pillow, urgently pushing at Baekhyun’s body with his feet. Why would Baekhyun take a serious declaration of friendship in any other way and he was glad when the male laughed loudly until his name was called from inside the yacht. Baekhyun jumped to his feet but resumed the same position he had earlier as he stood over Jongin’s sun-kissed body.</p><p>“Good luck,” Baekhyun whispered once with a smirk before rushing off.</p><p>“Good luck with what?” Jongin asked after him but it was too late.</p><p>Baekhyun had shimmied down the two steps into the helm and disappeared just as Sehun came up them. In the orange glow of the sun he looked like a perfume model, with his white unbuttoned shirt billowing on the lake breeze and his golden sunglasses across his face. If Jongin wasn’t hungry enough, he realised his lover had a plate of perfectly cut fruit in one hand with yet another bottle of champagne in the other.</p><p>When the dark-haired male lowered himself to sit side-by-side with Jongin, the wedding planner couldn’t help but beam a smile, especially when Sehun placed a strawberry at his lips. Jongin took it with a hum of appreciation before he sat upright once more, wasting no time in hooking his chin on Sehun’s shoulder and offering the male a green grape. He watched Sehun chew like a lovesick girl in a drama and when his love swallowed and produced a smile, Jongin leaned forward to kiss him softly, and very slowly.</p><p>“What a perfect day this turned out to be,” Jongin sighed dreamily as a piece of mango was offered to his lips.</p><p>“And you’ve looked gorgeous all day, dahlia, there’s something golden about you,” Sehun paused and smiled, his voice dropping quiet, “There’s always something golden about you.”</p><p>“It’s you, baby, you make me this way,” Jongin admitted with a bashful smile.</p><p>Their physical touch had increased outside of the house over the past year of their relationship which meant the sentiments behind actions were stronger than before; the words they shared every so often sometimes faltered to amount to anything that their fingertips alone could achieve. When Sehun glanced out towards the mass of blue water in obvious thought Jongin wasn’t surprised, in a sweet moment like this that could be interrupted at any moment, it was natural his love looked as if there was a struggle on his lips.</p><p>So Jongin reached for a tangerine wedge and held it ready for Sehun’s lips to take but the male’s hand acted instead, taking a gentle hold of the wedding planner’s wrist to lower it. The latter couldn’t help but think something was wrong but then Sehun brought his hand to his lips and kissed the back of it like Jongin was something precious.</p><p>“Can I ask you something?” Sehun spoke simply as he stared into Jongin’s eyes.</p><p>“Was it about me kissing Baekhyun just then?” Jongin teased with a grin as he ate the tangerine wedge himself.</p><p>“No, but that’s definitely something I’d like to return to, baby,” Sehun retorted but the smile on his face was enough evidence that his lover had nothing to worry about.</p><p>“Sure, ask away,” Jongin replied nonchalantly.</p><p>He entwined his fingers with Sehun’s and glanced to the fruit plate. As his eyes perused the fruit, he presumed his love might suggest sleeping on the boat tonight and sending Chanyeol and Baekhyun back to check on the dogs and feed them, which sounded heavenly in Jongin’s eyes. He’d never spent the night on a luxury yacht before and waking up next to Sehun on one sounded heavenly-</p><p>Jongin’s trail of thought stopped. Sehun was no longer sitting, but was kneeling, on one knee. He gripped Jongin’s hand so tightly and when the wedding planner’s eyes widened in realisation of what was happening, Sehun slipped a small, velvet box from his short pockets and slowly offered it toward Jongin. The memory of accidentally finding it in Sehun’s drawer all those years ago jolted through him and Jongin couldn’t help but clasp his free hand across his face in shock.</p><p>Under the glow of an orange sunset, on the deck of a yacht sat on calm waters, the handsome boy in the suit that wandered into the flower shop everyday for a week was now proposing to Jongin. He let out a sob of elation when Sehun carefully opened the velvet box and revealed the same ring he’d picked out in their youth. He couldn’t help but read his lover’s face and see the unspoken words behind it, the way Sehun looked so determined in his eyes and yet his bottom lip was being nervously bitten on.</p><p>
  <em>‘I love you, I’ve always loved you, and with this I promise to love you forever.’ </em>
</p><p>It didn’t need to be said as it was easier read, for Jongin. When the male glanced down at the ring nestled safely inside the box again he saw Sehun’s trembling hands;<em> ‘I don’t know what I’ll do without you’</em>.</p><p>“Will you marry me, dahlia?”</p><p>The happiest tears Jongin had ever cried in his life spilled down his cheeks as he nodded, throwing his arms around Sehun’s neck to squeeze himself tightly to his beloved. He kept saying yes over and over into Sehun’s ear but each time it came out as a pitiful, snotty mess, especially when his love chuckled and stroked through his hair. When they managed to tear each other away, Sehun beamed the biggest smile as he slid the ring onto Jongin’s finger, kissed it once, twice, and then slammed their lips together in haste.</p><p>They kissed to the sound of Chanyeol and Baekhyun cheering and Jongin groaned in embarrassment, realising this whole day had been a set-up for this one, perfect moment. The married couple rushed on deck and the popping of a bottle echoed loudly across the marina, followed by more upset seagulls, as Chanyeol ruffled his brother’s hair with a grin and Baekhyun squeezed the life out of Jongin from behind. Naturally they all drank so much champagne that Chanyeol and Baekhyun had to be carried off it.</p><p>Sehun and Jongin stayed behind and made use of the king size bed, enjoying the luxuries of the yacht by making love until the sun came up and shone upon their naked skin all over again.</p><p> </p><p>✿ ❀</p><p> </p><p>Jongin had planned hundreds of weddings of all types, themes and budgets. He and the other ladies at Eclipse Events had seen it all, dozens of white doves over a castle, floating boats lit up in fairy lights, rooftop weddings on CEO buildings. The wedding planner had arranged five course meals designed by a chef flown in from another country, never-ending medieval buffets and popcorn stands from a carnival. Black dresses, white suits; nothing was new or exciting to Jongin, thinking about his own wedding now felt like another Monday morning at work.</p><p>It didn’t help that he had an office full of excitable wedding planners grabbing him at any possible, given moment to quiz him about his own plans, what he was going to do. The ladies eyes sparkled whenever they told him how incredible it was going to be. It was easy for them all to assume that Jongin, being the excellent wedding planner he was, would dive head first into planning the second the ring went on his finger but it was different. Jongin felt like he could have lived in this fiancée bliss forever but his peers thought different.</p><p> Everyone wanted to see he and Sehun get married in all of the exquisite grandeur that Chanyeol and Baekhyun did, but all Jongin wanted to do was marry Sehun. He wanted to stand with Sehun’s hands in his and vow his love and faith to the man he adored with his whole heart.</p><p>He huffed and rubbed at his tired head after glancing at the time on his phone. He was currently sat on the living room floor in a mess that even the dogs had tired of chasing around in. Everywhere he looked, wedding magazines laid open on beautiful couples under arches, both he and Sehun’s iPads with Pinterest wedding boards kept flickering at him and even his own, personal portfolio was laid between his legs. Sehun had had a long day of number crunching and had fallen asleep after a hot shower so Jongin thought he’d take the opportunity to try and gather…something.</p><p>There was no divine inspiration to have. Nothing seemed to jump out and scream Jongin and Sehun, everything was already allocated to past clients or other couples.</p><p>One thing alone carried him through all this stress, Jongin thought, glancing to the simple silver band around his finger and the thought of he and Sehun bound for life. Every time he glanced at his ring he thought of nothing but Sehun, and their journey as two people who just couldn’t let each other go. He could still hear the magical question bouncing around his mind and the way Sehun grinned in the sunset. That was Jongin’s truest happiness yet he was clueless how to implicate it into some big, grand event for everyone to see.</p><p>Directing a show on Broadway seemed easier than this. Jongin let his head fall back against the sofa and sighed as he held his left hand up, watching the way his silver band caught the dim lamp of the room, in a complete trance.</p><p>Seeing his sleepy lover stood at the bedroom door, leaning against the frame and watching him with a smirk was the only thing that brought Jongin from his thoughts. He couldn’t help but sigh again, happier this time, at the sight of Sehun’s body in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts he used for sleeping. No one would have thought he and his older brother were millionaires had they walked in on the precious moment.</p><p>“I hope you’re not regretting it, sweetheart,” Sehun teased lowly.</p><p>“Never,” Jongin blurted within seconds.</p><p>He reached his hands toward Sehun with a smile on his face and was glad when his lover plodded through the crumpled papers of abandoned themes to sit beside him on the floor, guiding Jongin to the crook of his neck. The wedding planner couldn’t help but close his eyes at the scent of Sehun’s freshly washed skin.</p><p>“Could you not sleep?” Jongin quizzed as his lips tickled Sehun’s skin.</p><p>“Not well,” Sehun paused as he reached for his iPad, pulling a face at an image of a married couple surrounded by peacocks and returning it to the table, “I think I know how you used to feel when I’d sit up all night working.”</p><p>Jongin watched as his lover reached for his current list of dwindling ideas and surveyed it with curious eyes. He looked how he did in his office, staring other reports or predictions for monthly quarters, but thankfully Jongin didn’t feel like a nervous assistant. Instead he curled his body more into his lover’s and breathed in his scent again. When Sehun placed the list back down, he made no expression of despair but in no way was he enthralled either, returning his gaze to Jongin with a question on his lips.</p><p>“This is your passion, dahlia, you’re normally so happy to bend over backwards to help your clients and plan something beautiful…what is it that’s making you struggle with ours? You know I’m all too happy to help you, Jongin.”</p><p>“It’s not that, it’s just,” Jongin sat up with a pout and gestured wildly to the mess in front of him, Sehun’s eyes following the motion, “I’ve done all of this! Everything I think of stems from another couple and it doesn’t feel like ours, but theirs, you know? And <em>everyone </em>keeps talking about it like it’s a televised royal wedding, like everyone has the highest expectations for this but my brain is producing nothing!”</p><p>A breath Jongin didn’t realise he’d been holding fell out his lips as Sehun whistled lowly. The wedding planner drooped into Sehun’s arms like Juliet to Romeo and the younger couldn’t help but smile as he wrapped his arms around Jongin, looking down at his pretty face.</p><p>“What do you want our wedding to be?” Jongin sighed with a pouty bottom lip.</p><p>“I just want you. That’s all, no garish customised suits or flyovers or even peacocks,” Sehun sent an uneasy glance to the image of the birds before stroking over Jongin’s cheek, “I want you.”</p><p>“That doesn’t help me at all!” Jongin whined but his playful tone was enough for Sehun to smile.</p><p>He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against Jongin’s lips – making sure to linger there as long as possible – then sat upright with a glimmer in his eye that Jongin had never seen before. The wedding planner rose a curious eyebrow from his comfy place in Sehun’s lap.</p><p>“Why don’t you leave it all to me?” Sehun suggested like he was offering to pick up coffee.</p><p>“Excuse me?” Jongin blurted as he sat up in surprise.</p><p>“I suppose it’s natural that nothing feels right to you, dahlia, so let me do it. I know you better than anyone else, so let me carry the stress for you,” Sehun grinned and stroked Jongin’s face like he was a precious diamond, “I got it.”</p><p>Both parties expected Jongin to shake his head, laugh loudly and tell Sehun to stop kidding around. It was crazy that Jongin, a highly demanded wedding planner should just hand over everything to his fiancée who owned a technology company and had only ever been to three weddings in his life, but the wedding planner surprised himself. As he looked into Sehun’s eyes he was reminded of the only thing that he wanted, his lover all to himself, so Jongin leaned forward and kissed him softly until Sehun pulled him onto his lap.</p><p>“Deal?” the businessman proposed with a wry grin.</p><p>“Deal.”</p><p>Then Jongin kissed him again, feeling ridiculously lighter in Sehun’s warm arms.</p><p> </p><p>✿ ❀</p><p> </p><p>The few months that followed Jongin handing over the reins of the wedding to his fiancé were content. He was able to focus on his own work again, and even if his co-workers couldn’t believe that he wasn’t going to be planning his own wedding, the excitement blew over like a breeze. He and Sehun were able to enjoy their engagement and now winter was here they took time in long wintry walks, wrapped up in a stupid amount of layers, went for breakfast in the mornings Sehun wasn’t working and even headed to the gym together.</p><p>They even went ice skating and Jongin had laughed loudly when Sehun had hit the ice in a flurry of black, padded layers and his legs in the air like a dog.</p><p>On the rare times Jongin quizzed his fiancé about their wedding he was met with a shrug and a smile, again, like it was something that provided no amount of stress for Sehun. He’d even resorted in turning to Baekhyun, hoping that maybe he could prize information out of Chanyeol but it turned out the married couple were just as out of the loop as Jongin was. The wedding planner could always tell if Baekhyun was lying so the genuineness on his friends face surprised him.</p><p>The wedding planner even went as far to check Sehun’s briefcase one day in the hopes that he’d see a slither of something, a receipt for floral arrangements or even a list of caterers but there was nothing. So Jongin decided to go with the flow and leave it all to Sehun as the businessman had proposed.</p><p>One morning when Jongin stumbled out of the bedroom and arrived at the kitchen, mid-brushing his teeth, he was greeted by his already suited and booted fiancé, a plate of breakfast and a sealed envelope with Selene’s name on it. He took it and glanced over it curiously but Sehun merely kissed his cheek and patted his butt with a proud smile.</p><p>“Top secret information that you’re not to look at,” Sehun smirked then as he pulled on his coat, “Don’t worry about it.”</p><p>When Jongin arrived at work that morning and dutifully handed the letter to his employer she took it with a wry grin and waved it in front of his face with pink painted nails.</p><p>“Ah good! I’ve been expecting this, thank you,” was all Selene spoke as she ushered up the stairs to her office.</p><p>The wedding planner was dropped into a world of mystery. When he’d agreed to hand over the ropes to his fiancé he wasn’t expecting full on secrecy and yet here he was, consumed by whatever the hell Sehun was up too. When he was at work he stared at his emails but instead of replying, he started to daydream off possibilities, he could imagine Sehun whisking them off in a helicopter to some far-off island to be married on the sand but then he thought about Sehun booking a whole damn cathedral for them to exchange vows within.</p><p>When the day finally came, it was safe to say that Jongin was absolutely not expecting it in the slightest.</p><p>He woke up with a face full of Vivi’s fur as the smell of coffee floated into the bedroom. The poodle wriggled and licked at Jongin’s face until the male stirred and when the pooch jumped off the bed, someone else jumped on it. Jongin rubbed at his eyes until Sehun’s face was in front of them, placing sweet kisses on his cheeks only for Jongin to tiredly pull him down into his arms to kiss him properly.</p><p>“I hate to say it but we don’t have time for this, sweetheart,” Sehun chuckled as he managed to prize himself from his lover’s arms, “We have a busy day today. Go get in the shower while I make breakfast, okay?”</p><p>It sounded like a question but it definitely wasn’t, and Jongin couldn’t help but smile mischievously at the business-like tone whenever Sehun directed it at him. The wedding planner called after Sehun to ask what they were doing today but no answer came, only the distant sound of the kettle boiling and the dogs chasing around, so he did as he was told. Jongin hopped in the shower and scrubbed at his body, washed his face and blow-dried his hair in the mirror.</p><p>When he stepped out of the ensuite with a yawn, stood there for a moment as sleep still clung to his body, but then he noticed Sehun. His fiancé was stood before him wearing a beautifully cut, light-grey suit, his hair perfectly slicked back and an expensive looking silk tie around his neck. In his hands was a zipped suit bag with the Gucci symbol plastered across it, and when Jongin’s jaw went slack in realisation, Sehun smirked.</p><p>“Happy wedding day, dahlia.”</p><p>“It’s today?!” Jongin gasped as he reached for the suit bag in shock.</p><p>He couldn’t help but wonder how Sehun had managed to pull this off in such short time, without even warning him, but the poodles wandered into the bedroom in matching bow ties and Jongin decided to fuss over them instead. Monggu and Vivi barked and bounced around excitedly and so Jongin decided to kiss his fiancé long and hard, swaying ever so with the suit bag between them.</p><p>He wasn’t going to think. He was just going to follow his love every step of the way through their day and enjoy it. So Jongin got dressed excitedly and spent even more time on his hair and appearance, and with one last of cologne, admired the beautiful navy suit that fit him perfectly. He couldn’t help but giggle excitedly at the beautiful inside lining of the Gucci suit and practically skipped when Sehun called for his name.</p><p>“Ready to go, baby?” Sehun asked like a lovesick teenager, holding onto Jongin’s hands with admiration in his eyes.</p><p>“I think so,” Jongin breathed with a slight giggle, and after Sehun wrapped him inside his warm coat, they left their home with the dogs in tow.</p><p>When they pulled up outside of City Hall Jongin couldn’t help but glance across at Sehun with wide eyes. Of all the wedding ideas he had, he’d never thought of something so sweet and simple as this, and the wedding planner had to stop the tears brimming in his eyes. Sehun’s face dropped at the sight of Jongin suddenly emotional.</p><p>“If you don’t want to do it this way that’s fine, Jongie, it was just an idea but if you want something bigger instead,”</p><p>Jongin cut him off as he lunged across the consol to kiss him with all the relief and blessings in the world. Falling in love with Sehun had been the biggest blessing of his life. When Sehun bragged that he’d know just what Jongin would want, he was right, and the latter felt so glad he’d left this in his love’s hands. It was small, sweet, and all about them and nothing else.</p><p>“It’s perfect,” Jongin wept between pressing kisses on Sehun’s face.</p><p>“It is?” Sehun asked with doubt still lingering in his eyes.</p><p>“Sehun, this…this is everything I could want for us,” Jongin whispered with a dazzling smile.</p><p>“You’re sure?” Sehun quizzed again as he wiped a tear from Jongin’s face.</p><p>“I’ve never been more sure in my life.”</p><p>So they shared one last, final kiss as two before they headed inside the building with the dogs in tow. On entry Baekhyun’s voice rose loudly above any other sound and Jongin was immediately greeted by a stupidly tight hug. His friend kept babbling happily that today was their wedding day and how exciting everyone was and then Chanyeol arrived in front of him with a bundle of brown paper-wrapped white dahlias. Jongin took the bouquet with emotion thick in his throat and smiled once at the elder Oh brother, then the younger.</p><p>“Congrats, man!” Mark then called.</p><p>Jongin burst into a happy grin at the sight of his other best friend in a bowtie and hugged he and his boyfriend, Lucas, tightly, thanking them for coming until Sehun took his elbow and pointed toward a small crowd stood waiting. The wedding planner clutched at the dahlias in his hand at the sight of his parents stood with Sehun’s and he once again fought back tears.</p><p>“I flew them in, you couldn’t get married without your Eomma and Appa,” Sehun whispered.</p><p>“Thank you, baby,” Jongin blurted.</p><p>He hugged Sehun before sprinting across to his parents, his heart exploding in joy at the familiarity of their arms and smiles. Everyone he loved was here, in this beautiful hall, and soon enough they were all ushered down to the ceremony. They stood together in front of a judge, their closest friends and family watching them with sparkling eyes, Baekhyun somehow managing to hold a pup in each of his arms.</p><p>They exchanged vows, and then rings, and when the time came Sehun closed the gap between them to place the most perfect kiss on Jongin’s lips to the sound of everyone’s cheers. There was nothing loud or elaborate, no tumbling exotic flowers or helicopter rides. It was everything Jongin could ever want without the thought even popping into his head. They kissed and kissed until Baekhyun unleashed the dogs and then they were being hugged and congratulated by all of their family and friends.</p><p>The reception was held in the back of a tiny Korean restaurant that the newly married couple visited almost once a week. Jongin’s parents fussed over he and Sehun, piling food into their bowls as Chanyeol popped a champagne cork and cheered loudly. Vivi was now watching the food and licking his lips happily with a wagging tail from Mark’s lap as the latter told Lucas what each food was, and how good it would taste while Monggu begged at Jongin’s leg to be fed chicken.</p><p>Beers and soju flowed once the food was finished and everyone made a silly dumb speech for the happy couple. The more alcohol consumed along with good, hearty food of their home country made Jongin’s body warm and happy. He slumped contentedly against Sehun until his husband simply brought him to his lap, and there he remained for the rest of the evening. He brushed his fingertips across the white dahlia on the lapel of Sehun’s jacket and gazed up at his husband happily.</p><p>Sehun’s lips opened but all that fell from them was a slight breath and a sweet smile. Instead, the groom leaned secretly into Jongin’s neck and placed a soft kiss beneath his ear, then one on his jaw, and one last one to Jongin’s waiting lips.</p><p>
  <em>I promise to love you forever. Thank you for choosing me. I love you, dahlia.</em>
</p><p>“Ditto,” Jongin whispered with a smile against Sehun’s lips, and then they kissed all over again.</p><p> </p><p>✿ ❀</p><p>{Baekhyun’s book was a total bestseller and he ended up with his own morning host show, but got removed from air after talking about Chanyeol’s dick in excessive detail}</p><p>✿ ❀</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>THE END! ✿ </p><p>THANK YOU SOOOOOO CRAZY MUCH!! I'm sorry that this update was late but I hope you all enjoyed the end of the story as much as I loved writing it. It was just a big puddle of love and fluff. Thank you so much for your endless support for my fic I have appreciated it so much! You're all wonderful! </p><p>Happy New Year, stay safe, healthy and happy. ✿</p>
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